Dangerous Truths
by JBGilroy
Summary: It's a normal day in Amity Park... until two new halfas turn up. Can Danny trust Yazmin and Eric Thompson? Could they be connected to all these mysterious pranks being played on Vlad? Will they interfere with Prom? (rated t to be safe) It's my second anniversary on Fanfiction. So join me in my celebration, details in full inside.
1. Chapter 1

**As promised a fanfic for August!**

 **This month marks my second anniversary of starting on Fanfiction and writing fanfics. I honestly hadn't written a fanfiction before I started on here. When I posted that first story, I never thought I'd still be on here two years later and over thirty stories written.**

 **So first of, thanks to you guys for making these last couple of years amazing. And second, check out my website. I have a special page in honour of my anniversary (there's links to it on news and sneak peaks). There's a link in my bio.**

 **So this story focuses on the relationship between Danny and Valerie. This is not a romance fanfic, in fact I'm keeping the Danny/Sam couple canon for the fanfic. This is more focusing on Valerie's relationship with both of Danny's halves and vice versa.**

 **Another thing, Phantom Planet never happened. It's based about a year after D-Stabilized for the most part but it starts way in the future. Don't worry it'll make sense.**

 **I don't own Danny Phantom.**

 **And so… on with the story!**

Yazmin Thompson sighed softly as she sat down in the park. Five years. That was how long she'd been an orphan for. She was fourteen years old. She had long red hair and purple eyes. She clutched the necklace her mother had given her. A locket. Passed down from her ancestors. Inside was her family's symbol. Not a crest exactly. It meant far more than that. Inside was a white speeding "D" with a "P" in the middle. She carried a secret. As had her mother. She was a descendant of the infamous Danny Phantom. It was family tradition to start training her powers at fourteen. It was a sign of respect for their ancestor, Danny Phantom. But she had no one to teach her. Her father, she never knew. Her mother had died of cancer.

Yazmin checked around herself before frowning at her hand and charged her hand with ghost energy. Her energy was purple. The same shade as her human eyes. She hadn't changed into her ghost form before. But she had seen her mother's ghost form when she was younger. Her mother had had blonde hair as a human but dark brown as a ghost. There was one thing that never changed throughout all her ancestors and their ghost forms. They all had neon green eyes. The tradition was that she would be taught how to change forms when she turned fourteen and given her ghostly outfit. But she had no one to guide her through the tradition and learning experiences. So far, she'd been training herself through trial and error and from a book started by Samantha Manson, her ancestor. The book documented most of her ancestors and a few of their experiences.

She had learnt how to charge her hand with ghost energy by using that book. It also told her how to use her invisibility and intangibility. But there was only so much she could learn without a teacher. And unfortunately shifting forms wasn't in the book. Yazmin dispelled the energy in her hand and pulled the book out of her pocket. She leafed through the aged pages and stopped on the most important entry. It was one of the last ones Samantha Manson wrote. Danny Phantom's last days.

 _Danny always believed that Valerie would forgive him if she ever learned the truth. I wasn't so sure. Neither was Tucker or Jazz. Danny always argued that she had accepted and helped Danielle. But Valerie hadn't known Danielle beforehand. Danielle never lied to her. Danny did. Vlad had. Valerie had been furious when she found out Vlad's secret. She called the Guys in White. I know she did. But Danny didn't want to believe it. We should have realised then. We made a mistake. She couldn't be trusted. And Danny paid for it with his life. I want to tell this story to warn our children and their kids not to trust a ghost hunter, ever!_

 _Valerie started her ghost hunting career when Danny accidently led a ghost dog, Cujo, into Axion Labs. The lab was trashed during an inspection and her dad lost his job. Danny felt terrible but there was nothing we could do. Valerie, furious and vengeful, became a ghost hunter. Her sole targets were Danny and Cujo. As time went on, she became obsessed and Vlad employed her as his personal hunter, using her to monitor Danny. Almost two years later, Valerie met Danny's clone, Danielle. Vlad ordered her to catch Danielle. Danielle changed in front of her and Valerie used her to catch Danny. Danny explained that Danielle was half-ghost. He told her that if Danielle's ghost half was destroyed, her human half would die too. Valerie felt guilty and helped Danny to save Danielle. During the rescue, it turns out that Valerie learned Vlad's half-ghost secret also. Learned that he used her._

 _Less than a year later, the Guys in White arrested Vlad after a tip that he had high ectoplasmic radiation. His medical history of ecto-acne was brought up and Vlad, deciding he'd lost, tried to fight his way out. Danny was going to help Vlad, but we stopped him. I'm glad we did. Not for Vlad's sake, but if Danny had helped, he would have been caught. We never saw Vlad again._

 _It took another twenty years before Valerie learned Danny's secret. There were plenty of close calls over the years. But it was during a reunion at Casper High when there was a particularly bad ghost attack. Valerie noticed that the ghost focused on Danny Fenton. She got interested. Many people wrote it off that it was because his parents were ghost hunters. Valerie's obsession shifted from Phantom and settled on Fenton. She began stalking him. It took less than a month for her to learn what Danny was._

 _Valerie was outraged. She blamed him for her dad's death years before. He was killed in a ghost attack. She lured Danny away from us and killed him. She worked with the Guys in White and had access to blood blossoms. She poisoned him. Caged him in an anti-ghost cage. She tortured him for hours. We found Danny. He could hardly speak in his last moments. Valerie was arrested and tried for murder. But… her husband and son are still out there. I spoke to her husband after the trial. He said Danny deserved it. He lied to her. Manipulated her. I have left Amity Park with my kids. We can never return. While I'm completely human and am safe, my children aren't. Danny taught them how to use their powers before his death. I'm thankful for that. At least they can defend themselves. I hope this warning isn't necessary. But in my heart, I know that this hasn't ended with Danny. No halfa is safe while Valerie Gray's family line still exists._

Yazmin had read the entry a thousand times. Every time, she felt upset and angry at her ancestor's fate. Valerie Gray had been considered a friend. But she betrayed Danny Fenton and killed him. It made her reluctant to make friends for herself. Her mother had admitted on her death bed that most halfas didn't inherit the book or access to the book at least until they were eighteen. It was generally felt that the lessons inside shouldn't be available to impressionable children. Too bad Yazmin was orphaned at nine and couldn't wait to look inside.

She sighed softly and slipped the book back into her pocket. What was she waiting for? She got a letter in the post, delivered to her foster home with the Fisher family. It told her to come to the park at this time and to sit on this bench. She scanned the area again. No one in sight. Maybe she was just wasting her time. She stood up and turned to leave before blinking at a black haired boy with dark brown eyes walking over to her. He was probably a couple of years older than Yazmin and almost seemed homeless. She gulped nervously. He stopped a couple of steps away from her.

"Hi, I'm Eric Fenton. I'm your cousin," he informed her seriously.

"And I care why?" Yazmin asked warily.

"You're in danger. A Phantom hunter attacked my family. He's going after you now," Eric answered.

"Phantom hunter?" Yazmin repeated with a confused, sceptical raised eyebrow.

"Descendant of Valerie Gray," Eric explained.

"How do I know you are who you say you are?" Yazmin inquired suspiciously. Eric rolled his eyes. He squared his shoulders and shut his eyes. When they opened they were a piercing neon green. Yazmin gasped in surprise and his eyes faded back to brown.

"What happened to your family?" Yazmin whispered fearfully.

"Killed. My dad was the halfa. He tried to save my little sister and got caught. My mom helped me to escape. She offered to stay behind to buy me some time," Eric admitted, his eyes glazing with the memory of the horror he'd seen. Yazmin bit her lip sadly.

"I'm sorry. I lost my mother when I was nine. Cancer. It's not the same, I know. But I understand what it's like to lose someone," Yazmin offered sadly. Eric sniffed and nodded.

"Thanks. I'm guessing you haven't been trained then," Eric realised quietly.

"I've tried to teach myself using a book by Samantha Manson. I know some of the basics," Yazmin told him with a slight helpless shrug.

Eric swallowed thickly and closed the distance.

"You should come with me. I've had some training. I can teach you. We can protect each other. If I can track you down, so can that murderer," he whispered fearfully. Yazmin nodded slowly in understanding.

"Did you send that letter?" she asked. Eric blinked and shook his head.

"What letter?" he breathed. Yazmin pulled the page from her pocket and handed it to him. Eric paled and scanned the area, terrified. They had less than a second's notice. A blue destructive beam was fired from nearby bushes. Eric lunged forward and grabbed Yazmin around her waist and conjured a rippling green ghost shield. He gulped fearfully as a large man stood up. Dark eyes, dark hair, clad in a red and black jumpsuit. There was a large belt around his waist, covered in anti-ghost weapons of all kinds. Yazmin trembled in fear as she saw the barrel of a revolver like ecto-gun pointed at her chest and another was pointed at Eric.

 **I don't really know what to say. But yes, in this timeline, Valerie killed Danny out of anger and revenge and her descendants followed in her footsteps to hunt down halfas. Danielle doesn't really feature in this fanfic, she's mentioned a few times though.**

 **Yazmin and Eric are very important characters in this story. So do you like them?**

 **Let me know what you think.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

Eric took a deep breath. There was no point hiding what he was any longer. He willed white rings to appear around his waist. They split and swept across his body. His grimy jeans and thick grey hoodie changed into baggy, breathable, black trousers that were easy to move in and a white tank top with his family's insignia. He was also wearing a thin zip-up black hoodie, his family symbol on the back in large bold white. His black hair changed to pure white and his brown eyes turned to neon green. He'd seen a picture of Danny Phantom once. His father had always told him that Eric look so much like Danny. The comment filled him with pride every time. And Eric was determined to do right by his ancestor's name. And his ancestor protected the weak.

He stepped in front of Yazmin, keeping a reassuring hand on her shoulder, even though he had to bend his arm back uncomfortably to do so. She hadn't changed with him. But she had said she hadn't been trained. She mightn't know how. The first few times were difficult. His sister had been too young. He never saw her ghost form. Eric swallowed his sobs down thickly. Eric had taken almost an hour exploring his mind and energy before he found the switch for the transformation. After two years of practice, the switch wasn't hard anymore.

"You murdered my family," Eric growled angrily. The Phantom hunter didn't react.

"Why?" Eric demanded emotionally.

"Half-ghosts are evil. Worse than full ghosts. Your kind destroyed my ancestor. Never trust a ghost," the man finally answered.

"Valerie Gray murdered her friend!" Yazmin hissed. Eric blinked in surprise. He hadn't been told how his ancestor and Phantom hunters were connected. He had only been told that Phantom hunters would never stop until they killed every single halfa and that they were descended from Valerie Gray.

"A friend doesn't lie and manipulate. Daniel Fenton used her!" the Phantom hunter argued. Eric licked his chilled lips nervously. He was not comfortable being this close to the man who killed his father. A skilled halfa. Eric clenched his teeth and took a deep breath.

He had only tried this once. It was an advanced technique his father had only started to teach him before he was murdered. The last time he had been drained. Not all halfas had the same or similar powers to Danny Phantom but Eric seemed to have inherited a lot from his ancestor, including his ice powers. Eric's green ghostly eyes flashed bright, electric blue. His hand glowed blue and he sent the energy out in a wave. The grass, gravel path and the bushes around the hunter were frozen. The bushes trapped the hunter but it wouldn't hold him forever. Winded, Eric grabbed Yazmin's arm and tugged her along as he sprinted away.

They ran as fast as possible until they were gasping for breath. They hid in a dank alleyway between two tall buildings. Eric leant heavily against the wall and Yazmin doubled over, hands on her knees.

"How did you do that?" she panted.

"My dad taught me. It's not easy. Do you know how to change forms?" Eric asked. Yazmin shook her head.

"My mom died when I was nine. I can make a ghost ray, but I've never fired one," Yazmin explained. Eric nodded in understanding.

"I'll teach you. But first we have to get away from that hunter," Eric promised. Yazmin nodded as she straightened. Eric pushed himself away from the wall. They peered nervously outside the alley and gasped as they saw the man chasing them scanning the street for them. Eric and Yazmin withdrew and stared at each other.

"Fly us. I can try and turn you invisible as well as me," Yazmin suggested. Eric shook his head.

"I'm not a great flier. Besides, he'll have a ghost tracker or some kind of sensor. Bad idea Yazmin," Eric decided, suppressing a shudder at the thought of flying that high up with a passenger.

"So what? We sit here and wait for that… monster to find us?" Yazmin hissed fearfully.

Eric pursed his lips as he considered what they could do. Phantom hunters had transport, jet sleds that could easily keep up with fleeing ghosts, especially an uncertain flier like Eric. They could try going through a couple of walls, hope that they didn't end up in more trouble and try and hide afterwards. But that relied on how unobservant the hunter was and how good Yazmin was at hiding. Eric wasn't so sure he'd be able to do that anyway. They couldn't stand and fight. Yazmin was untrained. And Eric didn't have an unlimited supply of ice. Not like his ancestor was rumoured to have. He had to build up his energy in his body before he could use it. And that blast in the park had left him with very little to work with. He'd be lucky to make a dozen ice cubes now. He was just about to admit that he was out of ideas when he gasped, blue breath spilling from his lips.

He spun around and saw a blue swirling hole in space. He bit his lip. He'd heard about ghost portals. Natural portals were dangerous and unstable. But did they have a choice? It was either jump through and maybe end up trapped in another time or the Ghost Zone. Or get caught by a Phantom hunter. Eric knew his choice.

"That's a portal to the Ghost Zone. I think we should go through it," Eric whispered, nudging Yazmin. She turned, tearing her frightened gaze away from the hunter.

"I thought they were green," she commented softly.

"Look, it's either the portal or the hunter," Eric retorted, glancing fearfully behind them. The man was looking at a device, grinning with dark happiness. Yazmin glanced at Eric. She took his hand.

"A leap of faith. Danny Phantom had friends in the Ghost Zone. Hopefully we will too," she muttered with a scared expression. Eric nodded. Together they jumped through the portal. The hunter turned into the alley and stared at the portal. He gritted his teeth angrily before pressing a button. A metal jet sled appeared beside him. He jumped on to the sled and flew through the portal after the two halfas.

Eric instinctively started hovering the moment they passed through the portal, gripping Yazmin's hand tightly to prevent her falling. He flew them to the nearest island and they ducked down behind some glowing green plants and rocks. They watched the portal, silently begging it to shut. The hunter followed them in and scanned the Ghost Zone. He sniffed loudly in disappointment before tapping on his arm console and flew off in one direction. Eric and Yazmin breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. Out of immediate danger, they took in their surroundings. They gaped at the Ghost Zone. It was nothing like the descriptions they'd heard or read. Dark green clouds melting into the green gaseous atmosphere. There were purple doors floating aimlessly around them, varying in shades of purple and different types of door. Some looked wooden, some looked metal. Some were inviting, others ominous. There were islands all around them. Some covered with purple stoned buildings. Some forested with ghostly plants. Some were rocky.

Yazmin gasped in horror and grabbed Eric's arm painfully hard. She pointed back at the portal they used to enter the Ghost Zone. It was shrinking. Before either of them could react, it had disappeared.

"We're trapped here," Eric mumbled, filled with dread. The last halfas he knew that had spent time in the Ghost Zone were Danny Phantom, Vlad Plasmius and Danielle Phantom. Their descendants had been in hiding and on the run ever since and hadn't had the opportunity to return. Yazmin pulled a book out of her pocket and flipped through it. At the back was a rough, hand-drawn map.

"This was Danny Phantom's map. He made it himself," Yazmin explained softly. She scanned her surroundings.

"Wow. Good thing you have that. I'm lost," Eric muttered, peering at the book with interest.

"As far as I can make out, this is Skulker's island. The original portal was in that direction," Yazmin deciphered and pointed off towards their left. The same direction as the hunter had gone.

"Yeah, I'm not going that way," Eric retorted. Yazmin shrugged helplessly.

"What's that way?" Eric asked and pointed in the opposite direction.

"Let me see… says here… Far Frozen and… Clockwork's Tower," Yazmin answered.

"Then we go that way," Eric concluded and grabbed Yazmin by the armpits and tentatively flew off the island.

 **Starting to see how this might be going? Let me know your suspicions.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

Eric was getting tired and Yazmin was lost. The map was very basic. There were hardly any landmarks to guide them. She was starting to realise why Samantha Manson had said the map was next to useless but she'd include it in case it was ever needed. There were hardly any islands around and the book warned against entering unfamiliar doors in the Ghost Zone. Eric gasped in relief as a massive building emerged from the ectoplasmic clouds. He sped up and collapsed on the tower's doorstep. He reverted to human in a flash of bright white light. At least his fear of heights hadn't affected his ability to traverse the Ghost Zone. Height didn't exist. He had to consciously fly down or up in order to do so, otherwise he just floated in place.

Yazmin slipped her book into her pocket.

"Where are we?" Eric asked, carefully picking himself up. Yazmin had landed on her feet when Eric had dropped her.

"No idea. The map isn't very good. I think it's more of a guide than a map. Only useful when you've actually been to those places," Yazmin admitted with a shrug. Eric nodded tiredly.

"Well the book said to leave doors alone. I'd rather not tempt fate by entering buildings," Eric decided. Yazmin opened her mouth to agree but then the door creaked open by itself. She squeaked in alarm and jumped backwards, slipping on the slight step and landing painfully on her butt.

"Please say you touched the door," Eric pleaded worriedly as Yazmin picked herself up and brushed her dark jeans off, rubbing the sore spot tenderly.

"I thought you did," she confessed shakily.

Eric took a wary step back, away from the now wide open double doors.

"I don't know about this," he whispered. Yazmin nodded. She gasped in alarm as a figure appeared out of the gloom. It was a tall, broad shouldered male ghost with blue skin, red eyes, one scarred, wearing a large purple cloak, a clock sat in his chest and another on top of the staff in his hand.

"Relax children. You are welcome here. I have very few visitors," the ghost soothed in an all-knowing tone of voice. Yazmin and Eric glanced at each other nervously.

"We-we don't want to be a bother sir," Yazmin stammered. The ghost smirked.

"Far more polite than Daniel when I first met him. But then again, circumstances were different," the ghost remarked. Eric and Yazmin blinked in surprise.

"D-Daniel?" Eric pressed warily.

"Yes. Your ancestor. You look very similar to him Eric, especially in your ghost form," the ghost confirmed.

"How did you know our ancestor?" Yazmin demanded fearfully. The ghost chuckled.

"Come inside and I shall explain. I am Clockwork. Master of time. I like to consider that Daniel was one of my personal friends. The least I can offer his descendants is shelter while Eric recovers from your long flight," Clockwork encouraged with a gracious bow when he introduced himself as he shifted into an elderly, frail version of himself. Yazmin gasped.

"Clockwork!? _The_ Clockwork!?" Yazmin exclaimed. Clockwork gave a small laugh.

"Clockwork should suffice. But yes. The very same Clockwork that Samantha wrote about," Clockwork affirmed kindly.

"How do you know all this?" Eric challenged worriedly.

"Eric, he's the ghost of time. He probably knows everything about you from when you were born to when you'll die. He watches over all of time. He sees and knows everything!" Yazmin explained.

Eric's eyes widened in awe. The teens followed Clockwork into his tower, the door gently thudding shut behind them. Inside was dark, dimly lit by the softly glowing clock faces lining the walls, soft ticking filled the silence.

"I've always wondered. Why didn't you warn Danny? You see everything. Why didn't you warn him that Valerie was gonna kill him? Or-or why not save him yourself?" Yazmin wondered. Eric glanced at her in surprise.

"I cannot interfere with the time line. Not directly. Besides, Valerie Gray had possession of technology that negated ghost powers, including my own. I control time but it is my powers that twists it, such as freezing, rewinding and fast forwarding time. Therefore, if I had teleported to Daniel's aid, all I would have done would have been giving Valerie access to the Ghost Zone and the opportunity to destroy myself as well. Daniel's fate was sealed years prior to then though," Clockwork explained.

"How do you know all this stuff?" Eric whispered to Yazmin.

"The book. I've read it a load of times. It explains a lot of stuff. Unfortunately not a lot about ghost powers and nothing on how to change forms," Yazmin admitted. Eric blinked.

"The book is traditionally presented at eighteen. But as Yazmin's mother died earlier than that, Yazmin has had access to it before yourself Eric," Clockwork interjected knowingly. Yazmin shrugged at Eric.

"However the book is biased and limited in what it tells. I'll explain more," Clockwork added. Yazmin blinked in surprise.

"Why?" she questioned.

"All in good time," Clockwork replied.

They entered a large room filled with clocks and high ceilings, stone rafters visible in the gloom. In the middle of the room, in front of a massive swirling blue mirror, was a table with three seats. The table had tea and a selection of cakes.

"It has been years since I've had tea with a halfa," Clockwork mused with a sad smile as he led the way over to the table, shifting into a child-like guise as he floated.

"You did this with Danny," Yazmin realised, quietly pulling out a chair for herself as Eric plopped down in another. Clockwork nodded.

"He started the tradition by bringing lunch with him once. He came to visit me to discuss some matters bothering him. Due to my vows and position in the Ghost Zone, my hands are tied in how much I'm able to say. But he did mention that I was a good listener," Clockwork informed them with a nostalgic smile as he drifted into a seated position despite having a ghostly tail rather than legs.

"You miss him," Yazmin mumbled. Clockwork sighed.

"Throughout his life, Daniel brought many changes. I do miss the companionship he offered. The Observants are not such pleasant company. Honestly they irritate me to my wit's end," Clockwork replied calmly, pouring out tea for both teens and pushing particular cakes towards them.

"How do you know I'll like that?" Eric challenged. Yazmin rolled her eyes.

"He sees all. Knows all. Eric, he knows what we like and don't like," Yazmin retorted impatiently. Eric blushed and sipped at the tea after a mumbled apology. He hummed his approval before taking a gulp and taking a bite of the cake Clockwork gave him.

"So, what did you want to tell us that isn't in my book?" Yazmin wondered out loud, nibbling at a cupcake.

"Do you know why Valerie Gray murdered Daniel?" Clockwork asked evenly, almost casually. Eric swallowed his mouthful.

"No," he choked out, past a lump of cake in his throat.

"I thought it was because she thought he betrayed her by keeping his secret from her. That and because he accidentally got her father fired," Yazmin answered uncertainly.

"That was a large part of it. But there were other reasons. Reasons that you can't understand by reading one point of view. Allow me to show you what I mean. This was the birth of the Red Huntress. The name given to Valerie as she originally wore a red jumpsuit when ghost hunting," Clockwork replied and waved his staff at the mirror in front of them.

 **The next chapter is more for Eric and Yazmin's benefit but it does have a deeper analysis of Valerie and Danny's relationship and how it progressed to the point of Valerie killing him.**

 **Let me know what you think of the story so far.**

 **Don't forget to check out my website either. There's a link in my bio.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

The mirror rippled and an image formed. It showed a teenaged girl with thick, long, wavy black hair with a massive stain on her top. Beside her, a tall, buff man wearing glasses and a suit walked with a thin, business-minded man. The two men shook hands as they concluded their business and the girl remarked that she could replace her top now. Then a massive, monstrous green dog ran into the room with a teen boy with glowing green eyes, white hair wearing a black and white jumpsuit hanging on to the dog's collar. The men activated the security measures but both ghosts simply phased through the defences, destroying the lab. The image faded back to blue energy.

"What was that?" Eric asked instantly.

"The day Valerie Gray met Danny Phantom and her hatred of him started. Damon Gray was fired and she and her father were thrown into poverty. They sold their house. Most of their belongings. Unfortunately there was another, similar visit from Cujo where he and Daniel accidently destroyed their furniture and belongings packed into a moving van, having found a small apartment in Elmerton, Amity Park's neighbouring town," Clockwork answered.

"That's terrible but… it wasn't Danny's fault. They weren't equipped for ghosts," Yazmin pointed out.

"Ghosts were new to Amity Park Yazmin. It was believed that Daniel was just a teenager with a particularly uncontrollable and unusual dog. In fact it was Tucker Foley who had to tell Valerie that her apparent bad luck was caused by ghosts," Clockwork told them.

"Alright. So, Danny messed up and got her dad fired. It's no reason to kill someone," Eric retorted, grabbing another cake.

"Ah, perhaps. But that was not the only thing that happened to young Valerie Gray. Prior to this, she was an A-lister. The top of the social ladder in high school. She had plenty of money to buy clothes, concert tickets and anything else she wished. But once the money was gone, her so-called friends abandoned her. Daniel, guilt-ridden, invited Valerie to join them. She refused originally. Her pride ruling her," Clockwork elaborated calmly.

"So her dad losing his job ruined everything," Yazmin realised. Clockwork nodded.

"In her mind it did. She lost her childhood home, many of her belongings, her popularity, her friends. And she blamed Danny Phantom and Cujo, believing that Daniel owned the dog. Vlad Masters, the first halfa in history with an unhealthy fixation on Daniel's mother and later Daniel himself, provided her with ghost hunting equipment secretly, unknown to even Valerie. She donned the red jumpsuit and began to hunt down Daniel and Cujo," Clockwork resumed, shifting into his adult form.

The mirror rippled and began to show numerous battles between Danny Phantom and the Red Huntress. Both teens watched.

"At first, Daniel and Valerie were enemies in all walks of life. Daniel was angry at her for always attacking him. Afraid of her learning the truth and made sure she never got close enough to see who and potentially what he was. However during a school project, Daniel got a much closer look at Valerie's life. The consequences of his inability to stop Cujo. She became a ghost hunter, yes. And as a result, similar to Daniel himself, she lost sleep, study time and excused herself from class regularly. Her grades suffered consequently. But due to her less than ideal living arrangements, she had to try and save up for her college fees and got a job in the Nasty Burger, a low pay job. She worked as the mascot, a highly disrespected character, pushed around by teenagers, ignored by adults and played on by children. Even Daniel himself lashed out at the character while stressed and upset. Having seen why Valerie was so upset about her new life, he understood why she wanted to hurt the person she deemed responsible," Clockwork continued, the entire time the mirror showing images that proved what the ghost was saying.

"I can't believe that I'm feeling sorry for her," Yazmin breathed.

"Look, I get it. Her life sucked. But I still don't see why she killed our ancestor. He apologised right?" Eric pressed with a frown. Clockwork nodded.

"Oh yes. He apologised. Repeatedly. But there are only so many times that Daniel could apologise before he stopped. You have to realise, Valerie was angry at her position caused through no fault of her own. But Daniel was angry and frightened of Valerie as she constantly shouted death threats at his ghost half, with the ammunition and skill to back herself up. Both sides had reasons to be upset and those reasons only grew to feed the bad blood between them. Danny Phantom and the Red Huntress were enemies," Clockwork replied shifting into his elderly form.

"The book said that Danny and Valerie were friends," Yazmin recalled with a confused frown. Clockwork nodded.

"Not originally. They were originally in different social circles. Daniel, a social outcast stuck at the bottom of the social food chain. Valerie sat close to the top. Then after her father lost his job, overnight she plummeted to the bottom. But as I was saying, Daniel saw how terrible her life had become, especially when compared to what she had before. He became a lot less resentful towards her, kinder to her. Particularly in his human form. Then briefly before Pariah Dark was freed and attacked Amity Park, Daniel was running away from Dash Baxter, a school bully. He hid coincidentally in the same place as Valerie who was hiding from another student wishing to ask her out with almost unsettling persistence. That moment of companionship brought them closer. They became friends. Helping each other hide from their respective pursuers," Clockwork explained.

"Wait, Danny was bullied!? Why didn't he just beat that Dash guy up?" Eric interjected.

"Dash and Daniel had a long and interesting relationship Eric. One that Daniel couldn't afford to change due to the importance of keeping his secret. Although the confidence formed by his ghost hunting did reduce the bullying. But that is not the relationship we're looking at Eric," Clockwork answered.

"So Valerie helped Danny and Danny helped Valerie. They became friends. But Danny couldn't tell Valerie that he was Phantom because she was the Red Huntress," Yazmin summarised. Clockwork nodded.

"That was originally the way. During the attack on Amity Park by Pariah Dark, an exceptionally powerful ghost that we needn't get into detail about, the Red Huntress, Danny Phantom and Vlad Plasmius worked together to defend the town. They were outmatched but they co-operated. Later, during the attack, to protect her, Daniel revealed Valerie's ghost hunting occupation to her father, who until then had been unaware. She got into a lot of trouble but Daniel went on to save the town. Injured, grounded and angrier than ever, Valerie watched as Daniel's ghost half was named a hero, overcoming a number of bad publicity and rumours from his early ghost hunting career," Clockwork resumed. Yazmin frowned at the image of a bruised, furious Valerie Gray glaring at an old fashioned TV showing a news report on Danny Phantom.

"He saved her life!" Eric exclaimed.

"True, but Valerie was unaware of that. And she refused to believe that Daniel's ghost form could ever be capable of good. She still saw him as the reason she was unpopular, practically friendless and blamed any ill consequences from her ghost hunting activities on him, as he was the reason she became the Red Huntress," Clockwork replied. Eric and Yazmin glanced at the image of Valerie on the mirror with frowns. They could see her point of view but it didn't excuse what she did.

"Later on, Technus, a ghost that could control technology, attacked and hid in Axion Labs while he attempted to take over a satellite in space. To distract Daniel, he used the confiscated Red Huntress battle armour to attack Daniel and his power over technology to push Daniel and Valerie together, romantically. It worked. They started dating and Daniel was very interested in pursuing a long term relationship with her. However, Technus attacked Daniel, in his human form, using Valerie's suit. Valerie decided that dating was too dangerous for her and anyone she cared for due to her ghost hunting activities. And Daniel, he, as Phantom, destroyed the armour. Valerie, unaware that Daniel knew she wasn't inside, believed that he tried to kill her. The rift between Daniel's halves and Valerie grew. Valerie hated Danny Phantom more than ever. And after her suit was repaired and improved courtesy of Technus, she made sure he knew it," Clockwork continued, the mirror showing the events as the ghost spoke.

"Wow. That must have been hard for Danny. I mean she liked him one side of him and hated the other side of him," Yazmin muttered.

"It certainly made him wary of how he approached Valerie. And it also made Samantha and Tucker extremely protective of him," Clockwork confirmed as he shifted to his child form.

"So, one day she just had enough and killed him?" Eric asked. Clockwork shook his head.

"No. A lot more happened before then. Vlad cloned Daniel, using information he used from Valerie's fights with Danny Phantom. The only stable clone, Danielle, escaped Vlad. A few months later, she returned to Amity Park to visit Daniel, looking for help as her DNA structure was destabilising. Vlad ordered Valerie to capture Danielle. She tracked Danielle down within an hour but Danielle was in her human form. Danielle saw Valerie, panicked and ran away, hiding in an unsafe building. Valerie, intending to help thinking that Danielle was merely a homeless child, followed her. The building began to collapse, caused by the activity in the building. Danielle changed into her ghost form and turned Valerie intangible, saving her life," Clockwork told them, images on the mirror telling the story.

"So she learned about halfas and helped Danielle right?" Eric guessed.

"Half right. She learned of halfas but she didn't understand what that meant. Not at that moment. Valerie told Danielle that she was just being a bounty hunter for Vlad. Danielle told Valerie what would happen and that she was looking for Danny Phantom. Valerie tricked Danielle into taking her to Daniel and captured them both. Danielle was taken to Vlad and Valerie chained Daniel up in her apartment block basement. She no longer wanted revenge for what he did. At least not solely. She also wanted information in order to become a better ghost hunter. Daniel promised to help her if she first helped him to save Danielle, explaining that a halfa was half-ghost and half-human. Valerie agreed. Together they saved Danielle and after Daniel and Danielle left, Valerie returned to Vlad's lab and learned that he too was a halfa. That he had used her all along," Clockwork corrected.

"That's terrible. She was angry wasn't she," Yazmin gasped. Clockwork nodded.

"Exceptionally. She vowed revenge on Vlad. A year later, after numerous attempts to quietly get her vengeance, she got in contact with the Guys in White. The government agency arrested Vlad Masters. Vlad, desperate, fought back even transforming to his ghost form. But the Guys in White were prepared and Valerie was present to ensure that Vlad was arrested. Samantha and Tucker stopped Daniel from interjecting and saving Vlad, going so far as to suck him into a thermos to prevent him. Vlad died in captivity six years later, having been subjected to numerous experiments and torture. The day of his arrest was the last time he stepped outdoors," Clockwork confirmed. Eric and Yazmin gasped in horror.

"She caused that. She killed Vlad," Eric breathed angrily. Clockwork sighed.

"She didn't deal the fatal blow but her actions caused Vlad to suffer that terrible fate, yes. After that, Daniel feared Valerie more than ever. He warned Danielle to stay away from Valerie. With Vlad gone, Valerie felt empowered. She relied on her friendship with Daniel to get ghost hunting technology from his parents, becoming partners with them. They taught her everything they knew, unaware that their son was half-ghost and potentially her next target. Valerie and Daniel resumed their lives. Going to college, getting married, getting jobs, having kids. Danny Phantom and the Red Huntress remained enemies, initiating uneasy truces when necessary but they never lasted. Then at their high school reunion, there was a ghost attack. One of Walker's prisoners escaped and tracked down Daniel for revenge. Walker's ghosts followed the escapee and Daniel was cornered. Valerie saved him, revealing to the entire reunion who she was and Daniel slipped away, returning as Danny Phantom and fought the ghosts back for long enough so that the people could escape," Clockwork resumed.

Yazmin bit her lip sadly, she knew what happened. Eric swallowed another cake and waited for Clockwork to continue.

"Valerie grew suspicious of Daniel. She didn't understand why the ghosts attacked him and she knew him well enough to see through his scared appearance to see the anger and annoyance he had truly felt during the attack. She asked him about it. He lied to her repeatedly, saying it was just because of who his parents were. She didn't believe him and started stalking him. Obsessively so. After a month, she saw him change into his ghost form in front of her, unbeknownst to him. She felt betrayed. A person she considered her friend had tricked her into trusting him. The same person that ruined her life when she was fourteen. Valerie lured him away from Amity Park and trapped him in an anti-ghost cage, injected him with blood blossom extract and beat him, furious and upset. Samantha, Tucker and Jasmine looked for Daniel, involving the police. They found Valerie and Daniel. Valerie was arrested, Daniel had remained in his human form the entire time. He died moments before the ambulance arrived on the scene. Samantha stayed for the funeral and for Valerie's trial. She spoke with Valerie's husband and realised that he felt similarly to his wife. Samantha took her children and fled. Valerie's son took up his mother's mantel," Clockwork concluded.

 **And that's what happened. Tragic I know.**

 **Hate is a dark and all-encompassing emotion that brings the worst out of us.**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

Eric stared at the image on the mirror. Daniel Fenton's death was displayed there. A glowing cage hung open less than three feet away as Samantha hugged him, crying over him, frozen in time. The battered man's eyes were open but glazed. His jeans and top were shredded, bloodied skin and wounds visible. An angry red, almost black, mark on his neck, the veins visible around the spot showing how the poison had spread through his body. There were darkened veins visible on his wrists too. Anywhere veins were close to his skin. Yazmin couldn't look. She'd read the story hundreds of times. Seeing the events playing on a screen in front of her was far worse.

"Why are you telling us all this?" she whispered.

"Because you need to understand what happened in order to correct it," Clockwork answered seriously. Eric and Yazmin turned to the ghost, he had shifted into his adult form.

"What?" Yazmin breathed in shock.

"There was a moment. Before Vlad was arrested that Daniel could have told Valerie the truth and none of those tragedies would have happened. I couldn't warn him. Ghosts and humans wouldn't understand the importance or would have alarmed Daniel further. I have been waiting for this moment for years. That was why I saved you from the hunter. I formed that portal for you. And he'll be here in a few minutes," Clockwork revealed. Eric leapt to his feet in alarm, toppling his chair by accident.

"What?! Yazmin, we need to go!" Eric shouted fearfully.

"You won't out run him Eric," Clockwork interjected.

"Why did you let him through as well?! You're the ghost of time! You could've closed it the second we were through," Yazmin demanded.

Clockwork floated to his non-existent feet and drifted over to the wall where a rack of gear-shaped medallions on purple ribbons sat. He pulled two off and returned to the teenagers.

"Put them on. You can't travel through time without them. They imbue you with my ability to twist time. It protects you from my own power over time also," Clockwork ordered calmly.

"You haven't answered our question," Eric hissed. Clockwork calmly stared at Eric, holding out the medallions to the teenagers, waiting for them to comply. Eric glanced at the medallion.

"Why are you doing this?" Yazmin asked softly.

"Because you can correct the wrongs done. Take them and walk through my time window," Clockwork pressed.

"What do you want us to do? Tell Danny that unless he tells Valerie he's a halfa, she's gonna kill him!" Eric growled, his trust of this ghost was quickly fading. Clockwork shook his head.

"That will not prevent this time line. He'll approach the situation for the wrong reasons. You must ensure he approaches the situation with the right ones. Valerie didn't call the Guys in White until she was pushed past her morals by her anger. And I'd advised you to keep my name out of your explanations," Clockwork replied, calmly holding the medallions out to them.

They heard the double doors of the tower slam open.

"You have mere seconds left to make your decision. You will not escape him," Clockwork warned. Yazmin glanced at Eric and took the medallion.

"Yazmin," Eric hissed. She placed the medallion around her neck.

"We have no choice. Clockwork set us up. We either do as he says or die," Yazmin muttered, glancing angrily at the ghost. Clockwork nodded and the time window rippled to show a sunny day in a beautiful park. Eric glared at the ghost and snatched the medallion away from the ghost.

"If it makes you feel any better, my portal earlier saved your lives. You would not have escaped then either," Clockwork informed them as Eric put the medallion on with angry force.

The hunter emerged in the room and both teens gasped in alarm and ran through the time window. The hunter turned to Clockwork.

"You're going to stop me aren't you?" he growled threateningly.

"If I could I would. All I can hope to do is buy them time," Clockwork confirmed. The hunter pulled out a gun.

"This weapon rips ghosts apart," he began darkly.

"I know. I know everything. I knew the moment I opened that portal this would happen, regardless of whether Yazmin or Eric came here. I know what you're going to do. So let me issue you a warning. Daniel will not be as easy prey as the other halfas you have killed. I promise you that. And once you step through that window, there is no turning back. You will never see your wife and daughters again," Clockwork warned. Clockwork stood his ground in front of the portal and waited for the hunter to make his move. The hunter sniffed angrily and fired his gun at the ghost of time. Clockwork froze time. The hunter's suit was unaffected, protected by technology created by the Guys in White. But it did stop the bullet from reaching the ghost.

The hunter lunged forward and pulled out a small metal rod which extended into a glowing, double edged anti-ghost staff similar to a light-sabre. Clockwork dodged the hunter and unfroze time. The previously frozen bullet rushed forward again and hit the hunter squarely in the back. The hunter stumbled and hit the time window, without a medallion, he was unable to enter. The hunter scrambled to his feet and glared at Clockwork.

"My powers may not work on you, but they do work on your weapons," Clockwork remarked. The hunter gritted his teeth angrily. The hunter charged forwards and Clockwork dodged once again. The fight continued with any bullets the hunter fired being frozen and unfrozen when Clockwork needed them. Eventually the hunter caught onto what Clockwork could and could not do and used it against the ghost.

Clockwork froze the bullet heading for his chest. The hunter fired another shot and charged forwards, holding his staff like a lance. Clockwork was cornered. He could have flown up to dodge the shot but the hunter would be able to alter his charge to catch him anyway. This was his last moment. He waved his staff at the time window, shifting the time it opened to, protecting Yazmin and Eric. He then faced the hunter with determination on his face.

"I hope you listen to them Daniel," he whispered and braced himself. He froze the bullet and was speared by the hunter's staff. He gasped in agony and collapsed against the wall. The hunter yanked his staff out of the ghost's body and grabbed a medallion. He shoved the medallion into his belt pocket and strode over to the time window.

"Thanks Clockwork. Now I can cut down the root of this problem. No more halfas," the hunter hissed and stepped through the time window. Clockwork winced as he pushed himself upright, both frozen bullets unfreezing and hitting the wall above him.

Before the ghost's eyes, the clock tower began to crumble. The gears stopped moving, many falling out of place and hitting the stone floor with booming clangs. The time window dissolved and the rubble faded. Clockwork pressed a hand to his flowing green wound and coughed. He watched as his lair disappeared around him and slowly so did he. Ghost death was rare. But once a ghost began to fade, there was no going back. The ghost's lair faded with them. Clockwork closed his eyes and silently wished that this time line never come to pass. Yazmin and Eric will be trapped outside time, doomed to live in the past. But at least this future will never happen. Daniel won't be murdered by a friend and one time romantic interest. Hopefully he'll live to an old age and have a peaceful death.

Clockwork brought the halfa to mind. Imagining him as he remembered the halfa. A happy teenager with much to offer. A boy who would give everything to ensure his friends and family were safe. Everything hinged on his actions and his relationship with Valerie Gray. Together halfa and hunter, they'd bring forth a better future where halfas were revered and trusted, not hunted down like animals. With his last thought, Clockwork opened his eyes and stared at the table he had sat with Yazmin and Eric at. The same table he'd sat with Daniel at. He would never see his friend again. He knew that. But at least his actions might save his friend from a terrible fate. The tower seemed to pause as Clockwork's ghostly body vanished before imploding on itself, the only trace left was a barren rocky island with a gear-like crater.

 **Gasp. Clockwork is gone! Well, he's gone from that timeline.**

 **And yeah, the old ghost manipulated Eric and Yazmin into going through that time window. But it was for their own good, not to mention Clockwork's plan to save Danny the only way he can.**

 **This is where the time frame changes to a year after D-stabilized.**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

They landed with a hard thump. Eric scrambled to his feet and scanned the area. Yazmin glanced up at the portal they ran through. It had disappeared.

"We're safe now," she muttered, hardly daring to utter the words. Eric turned to her.

"Maybe. I don't trust Clockwork. Where are we anyway?" Eric replied. They surveyed their surroundings. They were in a quaint park. There was a fountain and trees and grass. It was nice. Far nicer than what they were used to. The park Yazmin had lived nearby was a tiny square of grass with a trashcan and bench. It couldn't really be called a park, just a green space.

"We're in a park in some town," Yazmin mumbled.

"Did Clockwork send us to… to Amity Park?" Eric whispered. Yazmin nodded numbly.

"I think so. He did want us to find Danny. Danny lived almost his entire life there. Only left for college," Yazmin agreed. Eric blinked.

"I need to read that book," he grumbled. Yazmin smirked.

"You can borrow it," Yazmin offered.

They started walking over to the fountain. They nervously looked all around themselves.

"Where is everybody?" Yazmin whispered.

"No idea. Hang on," Eric retorted and jogged over to the nearest trashcan. He peered inside and grinned in triumph as he spotted a newspaper. He pulled it out, ignoring Yazmin's disgust. He found the front page and the date.

"He did it. We're in Danny Fenton's time. And it's a Friday. Everyone's probably at work or school," Eric announced. Yazmin nodded in understanding.

"Why do I get the feeling that you've done this before?" Yazmin asked.

"What time travel?" Eric replied in confusion.

"No. Fishing in bins," Yazmin corrected. Eric sighed.

"I'll admit, I've been on the streets for a few weeks. Being homeless changes you," Eric confessed.

Yazmin bit her lip, realising that they were both homeless now. Suddenly Eric's ghost sense triggered and there was a massive boom. They spun around and ran to the sound. Both frightened and curious. There was a shallow crater in the lawn with a robot laying on their side. The robot was wearing black leather trousers, combat boots and a black tank top. He had flaming green hair shaped into a Mohawk and a goatee. He was glowing softly too. Above the robot was a teenager with brilliant white hair, neon green eyes and a black and white jumpsuit. Yazmin and Eric gasped in awe. Danny Phantom.

Danny floated down to the ground.

"Had enough yet?" he shouted down.

"I… will have… your pelt whelp!" the robot growled.

"Yeah, yeah. Buh-bye," Danny retorted and pulled out a thermos and sucked the ghost inside. Danny slammed the lid back on to the thermos and clipped it to his belt. He put his hands on his hips and frowned at the crater.

"At least it was the grass this time. It'll grow back," he muttered. Yazmin swallowed nervously and edged closer to the ghostly teen.

"Um, Danny Phantom… sir?" she called carefully. Danny spun around and blinked in shock.

"Er, hello," Danny replied nervously. Eric quickly rushed to Yazmin's side.

"We're um," Eric began uncertainly.

"Fans. I'm grateful for your support but shouldn't you two be in school. And it's too dangerous to be chasing ghost fights," Danny interrupted sternly. Yazmin and Eric blinked in surprise.

"Ye-yeah. We should," Eric stammered.

"But that's not why we're here. We're… we're halfas too," Yazmin ventured. Danny went pale.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I've never heard of that term," Danny lied frantically.

"We can prove it," Eric interjected quickly. He blinked and made his brown eyes turn bright green. Yazmin concentrated and charged her hand with her purple ghost energy. Danny gasped and zoomed to their side, covering Yazmin's hand.

"Don't do that out in the open. Not right now. Everyone's on high alert after Skulker's attack," Danny hissed urgently, scanning around them for any danger.

Danny sighed and released Yazmin's hand.

"How did you find me?" Danny asked.

"Er," Eric muttered.

"Danielle. We met her and she told us to find you. It was a complete coincidence that you were in the park when we were," Yazmin lied.

"Danielle? You know where she is?" Danny gasped.

"Chance meeting. While travelling," Yazmin corrected. Eric nodded dutifully. Danny nodded thoughtfully.

"How was she?" Danny asked with concern. Yazmin shrugged.

"Yeah, er she seemed fine," Eric offered. Danny smiled.

"Good. Haven't seen her in ages. But why were you two looking for me? And how are you halfas?" Danny questioned.

"Er, we um had ghost hunting parents and over the years we got er infected with ghost energy," Eric offered.

"We're siblings. Eric and Yazmin Thompson," Yazmin added quickly. Danny raised an eyebrow.

"So you came looking for me why?" Danny pressed with confusion.

"We need help to train our powers. Eric can change into a ghost but I don't know how," Yazmin suggested. Danny frowned.

"You're sure you have a ghost form?" Danny asked. Yazmin nodded. Her mother had one, why shouldn't she? Danny sighed and looked across the park to the library. There was a large clock above the door.

"I'm almost finished school anyway. Come on," Danny muttered. He ducked behind bush and changed from his ghost form. He emerged from the bush with black hair, blue eyes wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He waved for them to follow him. They glanced at each other nervously and rushed after him.

"I kicked the Box Ghost out of an old abandoned warehouse this morning. He shouldn't bother us until tomorrow at least," Danny told them over his shoulder as he fished his phone out of his pocket. He tapped in a phone number and put it to his ear.

"Hey Sam. Not gonna be coming back. I'm fine Sam. No, stay at school. I'll be at the warehouses. Grab Tuck on your way. I promise Sam, I'm fine. I'll explain when you get there. I know. I know I'll get detention but hey, it's nothing new," Danny informed Sam through his phone. He hung up and dropped the phone in his pocket. Yazmin and Eric glanced at each other.

"Who was that?" Eric ventured.

"My girlfriend. Sam's short for Samantha. But never call her Samantha, trust me, you'll thank me for that tip," Danny answered and turned down a road.

"How far away is the warehouse?" Yazmin wondered after a few minutes of uncertain silent walking.

"About a fifteen minute walk from the park. It's faster to fly though," Danny told her. Yazmin blushed as she realised they weren't flying because of her.

"Sorry," she mumbled. Danny waved a dismissive hand over his shoulder.

"It's fine. How are you at flying Eric?" Danny replied.

"Er, not great. Not long distances especially," Eric answered. Danny nodded.

"That's fine. If you want I can help you with that. When I first got my powers I had trouble flying too. Ended up upside down all the time. That and drifting everywhere _but_ where I wanted to go," Danny admitted with a smirk over his shoulder. Eric smiled gratefully.

Danny glanced around them as they reached the docks. He phased through a chain link fence and put a hand through for Yazmin or Eric. Yazmin, determined to prove herself, ignored Danny's hand and phased herself through the fence. Danny raised an eyebrow before smirking at her. Eric followed Yazmin's lead and phased through the fence by himself. Danny withdrew his hand and led the way to the warehouse building. Inside it was spacious with most crates piled against the far wall. There were a few broken crates littering the room. There was a high ceiling with dusty skylights that dimly lit the room. Danny sighed.

"Guess we should start by teaching Yazmin how to change forms, if she can," Danny suggested. Yazmin grinned excitedly.

"Wait, what about her ghost outfit?" Eric interjected. Danny frowned.

"Her ghost form doesn't have an outfit. If she changes we don't know what she'll be wearing," Eric elaborated, blushing bright red. Danny's cheeks tinged pink in understanding.

"Right. We'll wait for Sam and Tucker to get here. She can take you shopping," Danny decided.

Yazmin nodded, slightly disappointed but thankful towards Eric for interjecting. She walked over to a dusty, wooden crate and sat down on it. Danny turned to Eric.

"Alright Eric, show me what you can do and we'll go from there," Danny suggested. Eric nodded and changed into his ghost form. Danny blinked.

"You have my symbol," Danny noted with a confused frown. Eric blinked in surprise before realising that his outfit was puzzling. Especially as he'd never met Danny and he didn't know they were from the future.

"Oh, I do don't I. Er, well, we-we saw you on TV! Yeah. And you inspired us. We couldn't believe you were a halfa. I made this outfit specially for my ghost form to you know honour your influence on me," Eric stammered urgently. Yazmin nodded from the side in agreement. Danny raised an eyebrow before shrugging.

"Thanks I guess. But Sam designed that so… Anyway, what can you do?" Danny muttered.

Eric nodded nervously and turned himself invisible and then visible. He then charged his hand with his ghost energy and fired at the far wall. He then focused on his ice powers and made a snowball. Danny blinked in surprise and wordlessly held out a hand to examine the snowball. Eric complied and watched anxiously as Danny turned the snowball over in his hands.

"Not bad," he complimented and motioned for Eric to resume. Eric smiled and then floated a few feet above the concrete floor. Danny nodded slowly.

"That's everything?" Danny asked. Eric nodded. Danny changed into his ghost form.

"How fast can you fly?" Danny inquired.

"Um, I've never checked," Eric admitted nervously. Danny frowned.

"Alright, we can race inside here. I know how fast I can go," Danny offered.

"I dunno," Eric mumbled.

"Why not?" Danny pressed in confusion.

"I'm… I'm afraid of heights," Eric confessed quietly. Danny blinked.

"Oh. That's er unfortunate," Danny muttered. Eric sighed sadly in agreement.

"That's okay, we'll start somewhere else. Ghost ray?" Danny offered. Eric smiled.

"Great, I have ice powers too so I can make some targets for us to use," Danny informed them. Danny walked away from Eric and started to make icy targets for Eric to shoot in numerous positions around the warehouse, making sure to keep a safe distance from Yazmin and the door he knew Sam and Tucker would use. Danny returned to Eric's side.

"I can help you with your ice powers too if you'd like. But let's start with your ghost ray. Try and shoot the targets," Danny instructed. Eric scowled with determination. He charged his fists with green energy and began firing at the targets. Many missed and some were pure luck. Danny bit his lip.

"Alright. We'll try again. Not bad though. My first shooting practice was a lot worse," Danny remarked and made more targets.

 **And Eric and Yazmin have met Danny!**

 **I know Danny seems to be very trusting but I'll explain that.**

 **Any guesses how Sam or Tucker will react to the new halfas?**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

Sam and Tucker rushed straight from school to the warehouse.

"Did Danny say why he ditched school?" Tucker panted as he tried to keep up with Sam. Sam shook her head.

"No. He said he'd explain when we got there," she repeated and clambered over the chain link fence.

"You're sure he didn't get hurt here fighting Skulker?" Tucker huffed as he dropped beside her.

"He told me he was fine. I believe him. But he did sound distracted. Maybe his cousin's back in town," Sam offered as they jogged to the unlocked side door. They were startled by a loud explosion and burst through the door, Sam pulling her wrist ray out of her skirt pocket as they rushed inside. They blinked in astonishment though when they saw Danny Phantom standing beside another teenager with a very similar appearance and a red head younger teen girl watching from the side, sitting on a crate.

"What the heck?" Tucker exclaimed.

"Hey guys. Meet Eric and Yazmin. They're halfas too," Danny called to them with a little wave. Yazmin hopped off her crate and held a hand out to the two newcomers.

"Sam. That's Tucker," Sam muttered carefully, shaking the girl's hand politely.

"Can I talk to you for a second Danny?" Sam requested and dragged him away from Eric to a dusty corner out of earshot.

"Who are they?" she demanded. Danny shrugged.

"They said that their parents were ghost hunters and over time they got infected with ghost energy. They're siblings, Yazmin and Eric Thompson. They met Danielle and she pointed them to me," Danny explained.

"You're sure they're not clones or spies from Vlad?" Sam pressed suspiciously glancing at the teenagers as Tucker greeted Eric.

"I don't get that vibe from them Sam. But don't worry, I'm being careful. They asked me to train them. At least this way, we'll know what they're capable of," Danny replied. Sam glanced at her boyfriend before nodding.

"I guess you're right. Just… don't take any stupid risks okay?" Sam requested. Danny smiled and nodded.

"By the way, Yazmin's never changed into her ghost form. She says she has one but she doesn't know how to access it. Eric mentioned something about her not having a ghost outfit. I said you'd help her get one," Danny informed her. Sam blinked.

"You want me to go shopping with her," Sam realised.

"I do. You'll be able to watch her," Danny added with a sly smirk. Sam grinned.

"Good idea. Also we can both ask questions and see how their stories match," Sam decided. Danny nodded and they returned to Tucker, Yazmin and Eric.

"Okay, Yazmin. Sam's gonna take you shopping. Eric, we'll keep working on your ghost ray. Tuck, clothes shopping or ghost training, your choice," Danny instructed the group. Yazmin squealed excitedly and hugged Sam's arm.

"Thank you so much Sam," Yazmin exclaimed.

"Contact," Sam hissed in displeasure. Yazmin quickly stepped back and blushed slightly, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear.

"Sorry, I've wanted to change into my ghost form for ages. Finally I'm gonna be able to do it!" Yazmin explained happily.

"Didn't Eric explain it to you?" Tucker interjected. Yazmin froze.

"N-no, no he didn't. Er he couldn't. I didn't understand what he meant," Yazmin stammered. Sam shot a meaningful glance at Danny.

"Well, I'll try to explain it to you instead," Danny offered uncertainly. Yazmin grinned happily and scampered over to the door excitedly. Sam rolled her eyes.

"Text me if you leave here," Sam muttered and stomped after the younger teen.

"Tuck?" Danny prompted.

"You think I'm following two girls around the mall clothes shopping? With Sam in a bad mood? No thanks," Tucker retorted. Danny chuckled.

"Guess you're right. Fair warning, Eric's still working on aim so be on your toes," Danny warned. Tucker sighed.

"Not this again," Tucker groaned. Danny gave the techno-geek a sympathetic smile.

"Alright Eric. Let's do this one more time," Danny decided and made a number of ice targets. Eric took a deep breath and charged his hands with his green ghost energy. He built up the energy in his hand and released it at the closest target. He was getting much better already. Danny was a good teacher. Eric's father had always been stressed when training his son. Constantly fearing being found out and destroying anything important. Danny was completely relaxed and it made Eric feel like it was alright to make a mistake and so he didn't need to hold back.

Eric had started being only able to hit one in five targets and most were only out of frustration. Now he missed one in five targets. Once he had hit all the targets, shattering the ice, he turned to Danny. He was starting to get tired but he was excited and motivated by his progress in a mere hour or so.

"Getting there. We'll move on. Can you make a ghost shield?" Danny decided. Eric nodded and formed one around himself. Danny raised an eyebrow and calmly walked around the shield inspecting it. He flicked it and hummed softly to himself.

"Better than my first shields," Danny commented. Eric grinned at him, happy to hear the compliment. Danny walked away a few steps and charged his own hand with his own ghost energy. Eric frowned in confusion and gasped in alarm as Danny blasted his shield. Eric was forced back a step and his shield rippled under the strain. Danny nodded.

"Not bad. Considering that you weren't expecting the attack. But it wouldn't hold against anything stronger," Danny remarked. Eric nodded.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Don't be. You're not a novice Eric. I can see that. Let's see your ice powers," Danny assured him.

"Woah, ice?! Dude, this guy looks like you, has similar powers and just turns up," Tucker pointed out with a suspicious scowl. Danny frowned at his friend.

"Thanks for pointing that out for me Tuck. I hadn't noticed," Danny retorted sarcastically. Eric dropped his shield and glanced nervously between both teens.

"Uh, I only have a limited amount of ice I can use. I need to replenish it over time," Eric confessed nervously. Tucker and Danny turned to Eric and blinked in surprise.

"That's not how Danny's works," Tucker muttered. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Again, thanks captain obvious. What can you do Eric?" Danny inquired. Eric sighed.

"Not much. I can't really practice very well when I haven't enough to use," Eric replied. Danny nodded.

"No I get that. I have a power that exhausts me and is too dangerous to do unnecessarily," Danny reassured.

"What can you do though? When you do push yourself?" Tucker pressed curiously. Eric shrugged.

"I usually just freeze stuff around me. I've made a few snowballs in the past but that's it really," Eric answered. Danny raised an eyebrow and lifted a glowing blue hand, his neon green eyes pulsing a brilliant electric blue.

"Like this?" Danny asked and sent out a wave of ice energy and froze their surroundings. Eric nodded, gaping in awe.

"Not that much usually," Eric confessed as Danny froze the entire left side, leaving Tucker and the right side untouched.

"Dude, melt that before I freeze my butt off," Tucker complained. Danny rolled his eyes and his eyes returned to green as his feet began to glow green and the ice around him began to melt.

"That's okay. We can go to Frostbite. He might be able to explain why we're different," Danny suggested. Eric smiled gratefully. His father hadn't had an ice core. He had no one to actually teach him to use his ice powers.

"Thanks Danny," Eric mumbled self-consciously. Danny blinked before shrugging.

"No problem. I don't pretend to be an expert on this stuff. How long have you been a halfa?" Danny replied.

"Oh, er… not sure. I just um turned invisible and intangible one day. Then I felt this other… other part inside me and I changed into my ghost form," Eric explained uncertainly. He could hardly say he was born this way.

"You're parents are ghost hunters right? Do they know?" Tucker wondered. Eric bit his lip.

"No. They're dead. My, er our dad died in a um car accident last year and uh our mom died f-four years ago. She got sick," Eric lied uncertainly. He couldn't remember when Yazmin said her mother died. Danny nodded and scanned the room and concluded that the ice had been melted.

"Sorry to hear that," he offered. Eric shrugged.

"Thanks. I'd rather not talk about it though," Eric retorted softly.

"Have you ever tried to overshadow someone?" Danny asked curiously.

"Overshadow? Never heard of it," Eric answered with a confused frown. Danny grinned mischievously at Tucker.

"Ooh no! No! Danny. I mean it! You said you wouldn't do it again," Tucker exclaimed loudly, shaking his head firmly.

"Alright. I won't. Okay, Eric. What you gotta do is turn yourself intangible and walk into Tucker's body. You'll feel resistance but you just gotta push through it," Danny instructed.

"Danny! No! Don't listen to him Eric," Tucker growled angrily. Eric bit his lip uncertainly.

"Don't worry, Tuck's over reacting. It doesn't hurt," Danny assured Eric.

"Doesn't mean it isn't a severe breach of personal space!" Tucker snapped. Danny shrugged.

"It's a good power to know about. It comes in handy," Danny dismissed Tucker's discomfort. Eric nervously complied and blinked in shock as he overcame Tucker.

"This is overshadowing. From there you can make suggestions. Sometimes they stick. Sometimes they don't, it depends on the person. They don't really stick with Tucker. You can also do stuff as Tucker, it's the ultimate disguise. You'll have some access to your powers and ghosts can hide from detection when overshadowing. The only way to know for sure if someone's overshadowed is to check their eyes and then push the ghost out. But er don't do that to a ghost hunter cause they get really angry if you're wrong. To get out, just turn intangible, just you, and walk out," Danny explained. Eric, in Tucker nodded and did as instructed. Tucker shuddered.

"I hate that!" he hissed.

"Oh relax Tuck. It's not that bad," Danny retorted.

"You wouldn't know," Tucker growled.

"Tucker, I've been overshadowed before. At least we're not trying to hurt you. We won't do it again, okay?" Danny soothed his friend. Tucker sighed and nodded.

"Alright," he relented.

Danny nodded. He turned to Eric.

"Up for trying to fly?" Danny inquired. Eric sighed and shrugged.

"Not really, but I'll try," Eric answered.

"I'm getting hungry. Reckon Sam will pick up some Nasty Burger food for us on her way back?" Tucker wondered.

"Maybe, just try to limit the amount of meat you ask for. She might refuse though," Danny muttered.

"Want anything?" Tucker asked, turning to Eric, his thumbs poised to tap out a text to Sam.

"Uh, I don't know what the Nasty Burger does," Eric offered.

"Do you like burgers? Fries? Cola?" Danny offered. Eric nodded uncertainly.

"Are you hungry?" Danny pressed.

"Yeah," Eric admitted.

"Text her to get me and Eric my usual order Tuck," Danny decided. Tucker nodded and sent the text to Sam.

"I hope she doesn't get me anything like that "turf-wich" thing," Tucker mumbled. Danny sniggered.

 **A bit of training and Danny/Eric bonding.**

 **And Danny is suspicious of the two teens but he doesn't think they mean him any harm.**

 **Let me know what you think.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8

Sam sighed as Yazmin tried on yet another outfit. She was adamant to get something black and white. Sam didn't understand what it was with halfas and black and white outfits for their ghost forms. But she wasn't gonna argue. It wasn't like she wanted Yazmin to get something in bright primary colours, or heaven forbid floral pink. She wasn't Yazmin's mother either, so it wasn't her place to dictate what she wore. But she couldn't help but think that Eric and Yazmin were copying Danny. As a very outspoken, independent person, she would prefer that both teenagers think for themselves and come up with their own look and style. Eric even went so far as wearing Danny's insignia. Danny didn't seem to have a problem with it, but Sam did. Eric and Yazmin had no business wearing that. It was Danny Phantom's emblem. Sam could understand Danielle wearing it. But Eric and Yazmin weren't in any way affiliated with Danny.

Sam scowled at her phone as a text came through. She tapped in her code and read the text from Tucker. She sighed again and glanced at Yazmin's changing room. They were gonna be awhile yet. Besides the walk from the Nasty Burger to the docks and warehouses was long, the food would be cold. She texted Tucker back informing him of those facts. Another text came through saying that Danny would collect them when they got the food, to text when they were ready. Sam smirked at the text. Her boyfriend truly was a gentleman. He made sure she was happy and safe, well safe as she could be being the girlfriend of Danny Phantom in a ghost infested town. She sent another text to say she got the text and would do as it suggested.

She looked up as Yazmin stepped out and twirled, showing off her latest outfit. It was white leggings, a black short skirt, white tank top and black denim jacket, complete with black sneakers. Sam had to admit the outfit did look good on Yazmin, particularly if it followed Danny's jumpsuit and inverted colours when she changed forms.

"What do you think?" Yazmin asked brightly. Sam sighed.

"As much as I hate you copying Danny, it does look good," Sam confessed. Yazmin beamed.

"Thanks!" Yazmin retorted happily. Sam gave a weak smile in return. Yazmin ducked back into the dressing room and got changed back into her street clothes, dark jeans, green hoodie and green sneakers. They made their way to the check out, stopping to buy a pack of black and white hairbands and a small sewing kit. Sam frowned at the sewing kit.

"Yazmin, have you asked Danny if he's okay with you and Eric using his insignia?" Sam interjected as they joined the queue. Yazmin blinked before gasping.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't think it was a big deal. I'll ask," Yazmin promised. Sam nodded, satisfied that she understood what she was doing.

Sam paid for the outfit, hairbands and sewing kit. They then left the mall and made their way towards the Nasty Burger.

"So… I'm guessing you know how to sew," Sam remarked.

"My mom taught me," Yazmin confirmed softly.

"Do your parents know about you and Eric?" Sam asked. Yazmin bit her lip.

"They're dead. My mom died of cancer five years ago and uh dad died a few months ago, accident in the lab," Yazmin answered carefully.

"I'm sorry to hear that. So you ran away from the social services or foster home?" Sam pressed. Yazmin nibbled her lip.

"Before we got to the foster home. They were gonna split us up," Yazmin lied. Sam frowned sympathetically.

"Where did you bump into Danielle? Danny's been worried about her," Sam inquired.

"I can't remember. Towns and cities kinda blur when you're running. And Danielle was travelling, we only talked for like an hour before we started heading here and Danielle moved on," Yazmin replied. Sam suppressed a frown. Yazmin's answer sounded vague at best.

They stopped at the Nasty Burger and stepped inside. Sam pulled out some money and pointed Yazmin to the menu while she stepped into the queue. Yazmin joined her a few minutes later. Sam texted Danny to let him know that they were in the Nasty Burger now. Sam stepped up to the cashier.

"Hey Valerie," Sam greeted.

"Sam. On your own today? Where are the boys?" Valerie asked. Sam rolled her eyes.

"Actually I'm here with er Danny's cousin, Yazmin. And we're meeting up with Danny and Tucker when we leave here," Sam corrected. Valerie nodded.

"Anything nice planned for prom?" Valerie inquired. Sam smirked.

"Not sure yet. Who are you going with? Nathan?" Sam replied. Valerie gagged.

"No way! No, Star's cousin is in town next week and he asked me," Valerie informed her. Sam nodded.

"Well, I'll have a salad. Tuck wants his usual mighty meaty meal. Danny wants his normal burger and fries, Yazmin's brother is with them and he wants the same. Four colas. Yazmin?" Sam ordered.

"Um, can I have the chicken meaty meal, fries and cola?" Yazmin added, glancing at Sam. Valerie nodded.

"That's fine. It comes to… thirty six dollars and fifty cents. Eat in or take away?" Valerie told them. Sam nodded and handed Valerie the money.

"Take away," Sam answered.

Sam and Yazmin stepped aside to wait for their order and Valerie moved on to the next customer. Valerie passed them two big paper bags of food, a cardboard drinks holder with their drinks, dropping sauce packets, straws and napkins into a bag a few minutes later. Sam grabbed the food as Yazmin was carrying her bag from the mall.

"Bye," Sam called over her shoulder. Now that she was with Danny, she wasn't as hostile towards Valerie but she still didn't like how friendly Danny was with the girl. Valerie was a good ghost hunter. There was no escaping that fact but Danny seemed to forget that. Sam led the way out of the restaurant and ducked into a dark alley close by. Sam checked for any unwelcome eyes.

"All clear Danny," Sam declared. Danny Phantom appeared beside her. Yazmin gasped in surprise.

"Get everything?" Danny asked.

"Yep. Saw Valerie. She's working today," Sam answered.

"Explains why she didn't come after Skulker and me. She's been pretty on the ball these last few months," Danny commented. Sam nodded.

"I'll fly you both back to the warehouse," Danny offered, holding a hand out to Yazmin, wrapping an arm around Sam's waist. Yazmin nervously took Danny's hand and he lifted them into the air.

He turned them all invisible and flew back to the warehouse quickly. Yazmin clung to her bag of clothes while Sam held the bags of food safely close to her. Danny phased them into the warehouse and turned them visible.

"Food's here," he announced unnecessarily. Tucker cheered and jumped off the crate he'd claimed for a seat. Eric tiredly got to his feet from his position on the floor. He was back in his human form.

"Wow Danny, you worked him hard," Sam commented as she handed Tucker his order and Yazmin hers.

"I didn't realise how much everything drained him. I'm planning to take him to see Frostbite tomorrow," Danny replied, rubbing the back of his neck apologetically. Eric smiled tiredly.

"I'm grateful for the help. I've had my powers a couple of years and I've improved this afternoon more than all that time combined," Eric interjected, grinning gratefully as Sam handed him some food. She passed Danny's his and took out her salad.

Danny tapped a crate and made it flicker intangible for a split second to get rid of the dust and grime. Sam smirked as she sat down on it.

"Hey! You didn't do that for me!" Tucker complained, spraying crumbs from his mouth everywhere.

"You didn't ask," Danny retorted and changed to human, perching beside Sam. Eric sank down on the ground, leaning back against the wall and ate hungrily. Yazmin sat down beside him.

"I saw Valerie Gray," she whispered. Eric whipped his head around to stare at her.

"She's working in the Nasty Burger. It was weird. Sam was almost nice to her. Like they were friends," Yazmin continued with a slight shake to her head.

"Weird is right. Considering what we know," Eric agreed softly, glancing at Sam and Danny who were talking quietly. Tucker had taken out a PDA and was tapping happily on that.

"So what did you find out from Eric?" Sam asked softly, glancing at the apparent siblings.

"Their mom died four years ago and their dad died a year ago in a car accident," Danny reported.

"Anything else?" Sam pressed.

"Sorry Sam, I was busy teaching him stuff. He's afraid of heights and we were working on flying," Danny admitted. Sam sighed.

"Well Yazmin said her mom died _five_ years ago from cancer and her dad died a few months ago in a lab accident. She said they ran away from social services because they were gonna spilt her and Eric up. They're lying to us Danny," Sam informed him. Danny sighed, swallowing the fry in his mouth.

"I see that. But… I don't get the feeling that they're a threat to me. They're too in awe of me. You should have seen their faces when I first met them. Give them some time and maybe they'll tell us the truth," Danny remarked. Sam pursed her lips unhappily.

"Danny, what if they're with Vlad? They might be doing this to get on your good side," Sam pressed worriedly.

"I told you Sam. I don't get that vibe from them. They're completely different to Danielle. They look nothing like me, well Eric does a little, but I dunno, I just don't feel like they're clones. I felt a connection to Danielle. There were so many similarities and we just instantly got along. Besides, Frostbite can help us figure out how they became halfas and that might explain some stuff," Danny reasoned. Sam hummed softly in displeased understanding.

Yazmin finished her food, wiping all the grease off her hands meticulously with a napkin. She pulled her shopping bag over to her and paused. She got to her feet and nervously approached Danny.

"Um, Danny, do you mind… would it be okay if I stitched your symbol on to my ghost outfit?" Yazmin asked carefully. Danny blinked in surprise.

"Why do you want to?" he questioned.

"You're an inspiration to me and Eric. A role model. I'd be honoured to wear your insignia. If that's okay?" Yazmin answered passionately and honestly. Danny glanced at Sam before shrugging.

"If it means that much to you," he relented with a slightly confused smile. Yazmin beamed and dropped back down beside her bag and Eric, pulling out the sewing kit and began stitching the insignia in opposing coloured thread into the skirt, leggings and tank top. Danny watched in astonishment.

 **So Yazmin is going to be learning how to change into her ghost form and Danny, Sam and Tucker are suspicious, particularly Sam and Tucker though.**

 **And Valerie has been sighted!**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

Once Yazmin had finished adding to her outfit, she phased into a dark, private corner to change. She realised as she changed that Clockwork's medallion had sunken into a faint mark over her heart, shrinking to the size of a large strawberry. She spent a minute or so inspecting the mark intrigued. She took off her locket and placed it carefully on a nearby crate. She pulled on the white tank top with a badge-sized Danny Phantom insignia on the left, her new white leggings with the newly stitched on emblems at her ankles. She slipped on her new black sneakers and the short black skirt with the insignia stitched onto the pockets and shrugged on the black denim jacket.

She'd admit she may have gone overboard on Danny Phantom emblems but she truly was proud of her heritage and saw Danny as a role model. And what was more, she had permission from the man himself! She pulled a black hairband out of the pack and pulled her long red hair into a pony tail. She picked this outfit, not only because of the colour scheme, but because it was functional for fighting and moving in. She made sure of that. She severely hoped there weren't any cameras in the dressing rooms as she had looked like a fool trying to ensure the outfit was functional. She phased back out to where Danny and the others were waiting. She grinned excitedly. This was a rite of passage for her family. It was the bridge from helpless child to powerful halfa in training.

"Well? How do I look?" she asked nervously.

"Great," Eric instantly complimented with an encouraging grin. Danny raised an eyebrow.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder. Why do all halfas wear black and white?" Tucker remarked. Sam laughed.

"I had the same thought," Sam admitted.

"That's not true," Danny retorted.

"Oh yeah? You and Danielle have almost identical outfits," Tucker pointed out.

"She's my clone," Danny replied.

"And these two?" Sam pressed.

"Er, inspired by yours truly," Danny offered uncertainly.

"Uh huh, and Vlad?" Sam continued.

"Fine. All halfas wear white and black. Can we move on?" Danny grumbled. Sam and Tucker laughed. Yazmin and Eric shared astonished glances. They hadn't realised that.

"Okay. First time you change is kind of weird Yazmin. Just a warning. But I'd guess that Eric told you that," Danny began. Yazmin bit her lip before nodding slowly. It was a pure lie but a necessary one.

"I'll try to explain it but bear with me okay? I've never tried to describe it before," Danny began. Yazmin nodded eagerly. Danny closed his eyes and frowned in concentration.

"Alright, close your eyes," Danny instructed. Yazmin instantly obeyed.

"Take a deep breath and feel how that fills your body. Release it and feel it again. Humans need to breathe. Ghosts survive on energy. Just like air fills you, so does energy. Just like you breathe out, you can release that energy. Following me?" Danny muttered, trying to figure out the best way to explain what it was like to change forms. Eric gaped in surprise. Danny was unknowingly instructing Yazmin almost exactly how his father had taught him. Yazmin nodded and breathed a soft yes.

"As you breathe in and out, you need to find a part of yourself that doesn't breathe with you. That's your ghost half. It should feel like… cold heat. That's the only way I can describe it. When you feel it, you'll understand. It'll flow around you. Focus on that," Danny resumed. Yazmin gasped as she found that spot deep inside herself.

"Now like you can control your breathing, you can pull that energy to the surface. Don't push. That'll cause an explosion of ghost energy. Pull it," Danny continued. Yazmin frowned in concentration and nodded slowly.

"Have you done that yet?" Danny asked.

"I think I am," Yazmin mumbled.

"Good. Keep pulling. Then you'll feel a rush of electricity and cold. That's normal. Don't stop," Danny told her and a white band of energy appeared around his waist and split to travel across his body, changing himself into his ghost half. Yazmin took a deep breath and complied. She yelped in alarm as bright white light appeared around her. It wasn't a band. It was an aura that engulfed her from the centre of her chest, directly from her core. The light flashed brightly and once the light faded, Yazmin had changed.

Her hair was no longer red. It was a vibrant purple. Her clothes had inverted colours, black became white and white became black. She opened her eyes slowly, cautiously and they pulsed bright green before settling down into a natural friendly glowing neon green. She nervously looked down at herself and squealed excitedly, bounded forwards and pulled Danny into an overjoyed hug. He squeaked in alarm before uncertainly patting her back awkwardly.

"Thank you! Thank you, thank you so much! Thank you," she exclaimed repeatedly. Seconds later she released Danny and grabbed Sam, repeating her exclamations.

"Why are you thanking Sam?" Tucker interjected in confusion. Yazmin released the cringing Goth and beamed at Tucker.

"Well, she bought me these clothes," Yazmin pointed out cheerfully.

"You're welcome," Danny muttered, finally recovering from Yazmin's excited gratitude. Yazmin grinned at him.

"That change was different from yours and Eric's. Maybe that was why it was harder for her," Sam remarked.

"My first time was like that. After that, it was a band of light," Eric informed them.

"Alright then. Next is changing back," Danny told her. Yazmin took a deep calming breath and nodded.

"Er, Danny. Those clothes are bound to her ghost half now," Eric reminded him. Danny blinked.

"Right. Um, where are your clothes?" Danny asked, recalling his own embarrassment when he first changed forms. Sam and Tucker had been present and he'd passed out from exhaustion after the strain of the accident. It had been mortifying to wake up covered by his father's rarely used lab coat and a blanket draped over him and Sam desperately avoiding his eye. There had been plenty of moments since then where he'd been caught less than decent by ghosts, Dash and even the odd news helicopter after a hard ghost fight. But that first time was by far the worst as it was completely unexpected.

"We didn't think to get spare underwear," Sam mumbled, following Danny's train of thought. Yazmin frowned, slightly confused. Eric cleared his throat awkwardly and explained what would happen in Yazmin's ear. Her face morphed from confusion to horror.

"I'd offer to fly out and get some but I think it'd be weird for either of my halves to buy girl's underwear," Danny muttered, gradually blushing green. Sam sighed.

"Danny, fly me to my house. We can get some underwear and maybe a change of clothes for these two tomorrow. She can borrow some of mine," Sam decided. Danny nodded, sighing in relief.

"Good idea. Just… wait a few minutes. You can do a ghost ray right? Practice charging your hand in your ghost form. It's a little different," Danny suggested and grabbed Sam's hand and floated into the air with her. Yazmin nodded dutifully and her hand began to glow purple. She stared at the energy with interest.

Danny turned himself and Sam invisible and phased them out of the warehouse. He then sped over to Sam's house, phasing them through her bedroom window, turning them visible and releasing Sam's hand. She smiled at him. He smirked uneasily at her.

"You're remembering that time in the lab aren't you? When you first changed from ghost to human," Sam realised. Danny blushed green.

"Is it that obvious?" he muttered. Sam laughed.

"I think we all were recalling that day. Don't worry, I didn't see anything. Tucker was looking at the time, I was freaking out, pacing. He covered you up," Sam informed him. Danny chuckled shakily.

"It was still embarrassing. I never want to relive that," Danny retorted. Sam nodded in agreement as she crossed the room and pulled open a drawer. She pulled out some socks, knickers and a bra.

"Hopefully she's not too different sized to me," Sam whispered to herself. Danny quickly averted his eyes feeling that he really shouldn't be watching this. Sam glanced at him and smirked.

"Danny, I don't mind you looking. It's not different to a bikini," Sam assured him. Danny smirked awkwardly.

"Sorry. Are ya gonna put it in a bag?" Danny asked. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Does it really bother you that much?" she retorted. Danny blushed.

"No. But do you want Tuck to see them? Or Eric?" Danny inquired. Sam blinked and blushed herself.

"Good point," Sam mumbled and found a handbag to stuff the underwear inside and swung it on her shoulder.

"Ready," Sam announced. Danny grinned and wrapped an arm around her waist and turned them both invisible and flew them back to the warehouse.

Sam handed Yazmin the handbag of underwear and Danny and Yazmin walked back to the private corner Yazmin found for herself. He cleared his throat and waited for Yazmin to phase through the crate around the corner.

"Can you hear me?" Danny called.

"Yep," Yazmin answered.

"Alright. So changing back. Close your eyes again and make sure you're not floating cause changing back when floating can cause accidents," Danny warned. Yazmin smirked and shut her eyes, her feet firmly planted on the ground.

"Right like before where you felt your energy. You need to find the part of you that breathes. It'll feel warm, alive. Got it?" Danny instructed.

"Yeah," Yazmin muttered and smiled as she felt the comforting warmth inside herself.

"Good. Grab it and push that to the surface. Pulling works too but it's usually slower," Danny explained. Yazmin nodded and pushed that warm spot inside herself. Danny blinked as he saw a flash of light through a crack in the crates.

Yazmin opened her eyes. Something had shifted in her. She looked down and blushed bright red. She'd have to thank Eric for interjecting. She was completely naked. She called a quick thanks to Danny and heard him walk away, telling her to join them when she was ready. Yazmin pulled open Sam's handbag and pulled out the underwear she brought for her. The socks and knickers fit fine. But the bra was a little big. She tugged on her jeans and green hoodie before slipping on her green sneakers. She then replaced her mother's necklace around her neck. She didn't want to lose that with all the changing going on. She gathered together the shopping bag, sewing kit, handbag and pack of hairbands. She phased through the crates and breathed a sigh of relief. No more stressing about which halves were dressed and which weren't. She allowed herself a moment to revel in the moment. She'd changed forms! She was officially a halfa. No longer a kid that could do some freaky tricks. There was a twinge of sadness, too bad her mother wasn't there to see her ghost form. She brushed away the moment of sadness and walked back over to the others.

 **So, that's Yazmin's ghost form.**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Alright I think there's a little confusion about how Yazmin and Eric fits into Danny's family tree.**

 **Danny is Yazmin and Eric's ancestor. Not father. There is a number of generations between Danny and his children and Yazmin and Eric. Their time is like a century into the future. It is clarified later but I'll clarify now anyway. No point in letting you guys get even more confused for the rest of the story before finally understanding how they're related.**

 **if you guys have anymore questions or uncertain about anything else, please let me know and I'll try to help you out.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	10. Chapter 10

Danny started a brief lesson in using Yazmin's powers, starting with a few practices in changing forms. Eric was astonished as his father had followed a similar lesson plan. Eric was starting to realise that this was the root of all his lessons. Of all the lessons his father had been taught. Yazmin's mother. Their grandparents. Lost aunts and uncles. This was history in the making. He sat back with Sam and Tucker. He'd heard about Sam. Even heard one bedtime story passed down his family that included Tucker. It was strange to see them. Even stranger to see them as normal teenagers like him and Yazmin.

Things were different in Amity Park than the time he grew up. Without halfas actively protecting people, ghosts were a global problem in his time. As a result most technology advances were in ghostly protection rather than luxury items like game consoles, TVs and phones. Cars had improved. They were built to take a hit and most had limited flying capabilities. People didn't trust anyone they didn't know. In fact it was common practice to allow people to check for ghost possession or in your home or vicinity. It made being a halfa doubly difficult. Before a halfa changed for the first time, their energy was suppressed. It was another reason parents waited until fourteen. It was widely accepted that children would have had the opportunity to make friends and cement their position in the community without suspicion before their energy was awakened and actively set off detectors. Any younger and the child might show off their powers and any older and they might have difficulty learning their training.

But Amity Park felt relaxed. People didn't glare distrustfully at strangers. They didn't need to, they had Danny Phantom to protect them. There were signs of ghost fights in the town from the little Eric had seen but most repairs were good. The signs were only noticeable to the observant. Eric was only just realising how much Danny Phantom's presence affected things. His protection enabled the entire town to sleep safely, go about their lives normally. His constant vigil prevented ghosts rampaging for too long and getting out of town and on to the world beyond. Eric knew that Danny wasn't able to protect the entire world from ghosts and natural portals did happen globally, but the number of ghost hunters elsewhere kept them under control.

Danny started with target practice with plenty of ice targets for Yazmin to aim at. She had never fired a ghost ray before. Eric knew why. Explosions were hard to hide and she had no one to help her hide them or to find a safe place for her to practice in. It took a few false starts before she finally let off a ghost ray, nearly hitting Tucker as she lost control of the blast. Good thing Tucker was fast on his feet and ducked in time. After that, things went a lot more smoothly. Yazmin got the hang of firing her energy and gradually got better and better and hit a number of targets. It was starting to get dark by the time Danny called it a day, Yazmin switching back to human.

"Do you have anywhere you can stay?" Danny asked. Eric shared a look with Yazmin. This wasn't even their time. They had nowhere to turn.

"No. We don't," Yazmin answered. Danny pursed his lips and glanced at Sam and Tucker.

"They can't stay with me guys. Mom and dad will think they're overshadowed. They'll cover them in sludge and that stuff stings. Besides how am I gonna explain?" Danny informed them, reading their stares knowing that they expected him to house the halfas. Tucker sighed and tugged his beret firmly on his head.

"I can't take them home with me. My parents will ask a ton of questions," Tucker interjected. Danny and Tucker turned to Sam. She rolled her eyes.

"You owe me! All four of you. I'm gonna have to make some sacrifices to get my parents to back off," Sam growled.

"Thanks Sam," Danny replied with a smile. Sam scowled at him.

Sam stomped off to the door.

"Come on. Let's get this over with," Sam grumbled. Yazmin and Eric blinked in surprise before rushing to follow the Goth.

"Sam's gonna be busy tonight. I'll patrol with you dude," Tucker offered. Danny shook his head.

"Nah, go home Tuck. I'm gonna start patrolling now and grab a late dinner. I'll be fine. Besides, I can always call you for help," Danny replied. Tucker grinned.

"Thanks because it's meatloaf night and mom's meatloaf is heaven!" Tucker retorted happily running to the door Sam, Yazmin and Eric used. Danny chuckled and floated into the air, phasing through the roof and began to patrol the town for any troublesome ghosts.

Eric and Yazmin had to half-jog to keep up with Sam as she marched through town. Eric, having not seen much of Amity Park before, was drinking in the sights. Yazmin was busy trying to keep up, it didn't help that her legs were shorter than the others being that she was younger as well as shorter. Sam wasn't angry at Danny or Tucker. She didn't blame Yazmin or Eric. But she was dreading getting home. She had yet to broach the subject of prom with her mother. Her parents did not approve of Danny. They still hadn't forgotten the whole Circus Gothica thing and thinking that Danny was a bad influence. It was ridiculous really. If anything, Sam was the bad influence of the trio. Tucker liked technology and despite the odd hacking or loitering where he shouldn't, he never did anything considered wrong. Danny was the town hero! He'd always been extremely rule abiding. Sam was the one that suggested they skip school. Sam was the one who pushed Danny to check out the portal against his parents' warnings. Sam was the one who tried to convince Danny to use his powers to further her campaigns. Sometimes he agreed but usually he refused.

She was also trying to figure out a cover story. She had to keep Danny's name out of their cover story if they had any hope of convincing her parents to let them stay. Sam couldn't say they were relations of Tucker, despite her parents liking Tucker more. Tucker's house had an extra bedroom and her mother spoke often with Tucker's mother. She decided that she had to say they were exchange students and she offered to house them. It was a believable story. Next she had to make up where they were from. She'd keep their cover story of being siblings.

She still didn't trust either of the new halfas. They were lying to them. But she'd prefer to house them than Danny. She had a bad feeling that they wanted something to do with Danny. So she was happy to help put some distance between the halfas. They stopped outside her house. She turned to the halfas.

"Okay, let me get a few things straight. My family's rich. I live with my mom, dad and grandma. Grandma's cool about a ton of stuff. But my parents are kinda stuck trying to live the perfect family from the sixties. So don't say anything too weird. And keep Danny's name out of it. They don't like him. I'm gonna say you're exchange students from New York. How long are you planning to hang around?" Sam informed them. Yazmin and Eric glanced at each other.

"We're not sure," he mumbled. Sam sighed.

"Okay, I'll say you're staying for a month. We can figure out our next move then. Any problems?" Sam decided. Yazmin and Eric shook their heads.

Sam hopped up the front steps and pulled her key out of her skirt pocket. She pushed the door open and closed it behind Yazmin and Eric.

"We'll say you lost your luggage," Sam added, realising that neither halfa had anything other than what they were wearing. Eric and Yazmin nodded and followed Sam as she led the way into the large, spacious kitchen. A woman with carefully styled red hair wearing a pink dress and white gloves was sipping at a cup of coffee.

"Hey mom," Sam greeted her in a falsely bright voice. The woman raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

"Good evening Sammikins. Who are your friends?" the woman returned happily with a broad smile, despite examining both teenagers behind her daughter critically.

"This is Yazmin and Eric Thompson. They're exchange students from New York. I offered for us to house them for the month. That's okay right? I mean it's not like we don't have the room," Sam lied effortlessly. The woman gracefully got to her feet, brushing away non-existent crumbs and wrinkles out of her dress. She held out a gloved hand to Eric.

"Pamela Manson. Pleasure to meet you both," Pamela introduced herself politely but all three teenagers could see the cold, hard look in her eye. She didn't approve of them.

"They lost their luggage yesterday. I offered to go shopping with them tomorrow to get them some fresh clothes. That okay?" Sam interjected, knowing what her mother was thinking. Pamela blinked before grinning happily.

"I could come with you three. You need to buy a prom dress after all Sammy. If you're going to go with that Fenton boy, the least you can do is ensure you look your best," Pamela offered. Sam scowled.

"His name is Danny. And he's my boyfriend. The least _you_ could do is pretend to not hate him," Sam growled defensively. Pamela pursed her lips tightly. It was clear Pamela wanted to argue but was aware of their company.

Sam huffed moodily and turned away from her mother. She knew that she should try and keep her mother in a good mood but it angered her so much how unaccepting her parents were, especially of Danny.

"I'm gonna show Yazmin and Eric around. The spare room near mine is fine for them correct?" Sam ground out. Pamela nodded stiffly.

"It should be. Yes. There's some blankets and extra bedding in the linen cupboard," Pamela confirmed before returning to her coffee.

"Dinner's in an hour. We have a chef and you're welcome to ask for whatever you'd like," Pamela informed them. Sam sighed and grabbed Yazmin's arm and yanked her after her, Eric quickly rushing after them, out of the kitchen and up the sweeping staircase to the third level.

 **They are Danny's descendants, of course Pamela's not going to like them.**

 **Let me know what you think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	11. Chapter 11

Dinner was delicious despite the tension between Sam and Pamela. Both were still upset with each other. Unable to relieve any of their anger with an argument with Yazmin and Eric hanging around. Yazmin and Eric had met Jeremy, Sam's father and Sam's grandmother who insisted that they call her grandma. Their bedroom was large and spacious, Sam had even convinced her parents to let her move a single bed into the bedroom and get out the spare dresser in there to make room. Thankfully the chef and Eric were strong enough and Sam didn't have to resort to calling Danny and his ghostly strength in or ask Yazmin and Eric to phase the furniture through walls. Eric and Yazmin decided that Eric should take the double bed as he was larger than Yazmin. Sam lent Yazmin some more underwear for the next day and a nightdress. Eric would have to rough it one more night in his boxers.

Both halfas had a hot, long shower and settled in their given room for the night. Yazmin gave Eric the book her mother gave her to read while she pondered their dilemma. They had to convince Danny to tell Valerie his secret so that twenty years later she didn't kill him. Without telling them they were from the future. Eric was in awe of the book in his hands. The first few entries were a list of ghost powers halfas had through the years with brief explanations. He learned that overshadowing was the same as possession. Just a name given to the ghost's side of it. No wonder he'd never heard of the term before. Some of the powers even had a few pointers beside them, like how to form a ghost ray, how to turn invisible and similar things.

The next few entries were of Danny's life, told by Sam. They told of how Danny got his powers. A few entries of meeting ghostly enemies and friends. Then the entries told of Danny's death and the events leading to it and the last few entries told of how her children grew up and how they fled from Amity Park. The second half of the book had entries from other halfas as the book was passed down through the generations. Experiences, warnings, a family tree and finally the map of the Ghost Zone. Eric looked up after flipping through the book, pausing to read pages of interest.

"Wow. There's a lot in this book," he muttered. Yazmin nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Unfortunately, hardly any of it is helpful. I mean if you don't have parents or older siblings who've been trained," Yazmin replied with a sad smile. Eric nodded. He closed the book and handed it to Yazmin.

"How do you feel? I mean, now that you've accessed your ghost form," Eric asked curiously. Yazmin grinned.

"It's brilliant. I'm so happy that Danny helped me and is helping us," Yazmin answered cheerfully. Eric grinned and nodded in agreement.

"Any idea how we're gonna talk Danny into telling Valerie who he is?" Eric inquired. Yazmin sighed and shook her head.

"No. Especially not without explaining what we know… Maybe we should just play it by ear. I mean, maybe we might get an opportunity to convince him," Yazmin replied with a shrug. Eric hummed softly in thought.

"It's been a long day. We should get some sleep," Eric muttered. Yazmin nodded and shuffled into her bed.

"Did you notice that those medallions are gone? Mine left a mark on my chest, shaped like a gear," Yazmin wondered. Eric blinked and looked down at his bare chest. He hadn't noticed but there was a mark. Over his heart, the size of a strawberry. He gasped.

"Does that mean we can't go back to our time," Eric whispered. Yazmin shrugged and closed her eyes. Eric laid down in his own bed and switched off the light. He sighed and recalled his mother. His brave, human mother who had volunteered to hold off the Phantom hunter so that Eric could escape. He didn't even know if she had survived. He hadn't looked back. That was six months ago. After three weeks running and living on the streets, he had decided to track down his relations. With no money and such a distrustful world, it was hard to find Yazmin but he did it. Eventually.

Danny was flying above the town. It had been unusually quiet today, apart from Skulker just after lunch and the two halfas turning up. But then again he didn't keep track of what Valerie and his parents fought. For all he knew they might have had a busy day chasing after ghosts while he was preoccupied with Yazmin and Eric. He didn't like too many quiet days. It tended to mean there was going to be a huge increase in ghost attacks. And Danny really didn't want that for prom. He hoped to be able to leave Amity Park's protection in his parents' hands for that night so he could spend the whole night with Sam. Tucker had a date with Ashley, after asking at least thirty other girls first. Ashley, despite not being the most beautiful or popular girl in the school, was really nice and Tucker was glad to be taking her to prom.

He gasped as an explosion of freezing cold blue mist came from his mouth. He stopped and scanned the area, he scowled in concentration. He heard a distant growl and a frightened scream. Danny dove down towards the sounds. In a dark alleyway that linked a suburban street lined with town houses and another similar street. There was a middle aged woman cowering away from a glowing black bear-shaped ghost. Its eyes were blood red and its teeth were so long, numerous and sharp that they spilled out of its mouth. Danny gulped and could already sense that he was gonna get hurt fighting this ghost. He lunged forwards and shoved the bear away from the woman. She staggered away a few steps before running away, clacking her high heels and clutching her handbag to her chest as she fled.

Danny charged his hands with green energy, blasted the ghost bear and backed away a few feet. He had to keep away from that mouth. The bear snarled angrily and swatted a large flat paw at Danny. It missed but Danny saw the massive, deadly looking claws. Danny just needed to stun the bear long enough to get the thermos out and activate it. Danny blasted the bear again but the ghost dodged and charged forward, too fast for Danny to react. The bear hit him and Danny was thrown into a row of trashcans. Danny blinked at the explosion of stars in front of his eyes and scrambled back to his feet and into the air. Still dazed, Danny managed to focus enough to channel his ice powers and freeze the bear. He fumbled with the thermos clipped to his hip and found the button. He flinched as the bear broke the ice and shattered pieces rained down on him. He activated the thermos and the bear roared furiously as it was sucked inside. Danny slammed the lid back on and clumsily clipped the thermos back to his belt. He sank down on the ground.

The alley spun around him and his head and side ached painfully.

"I didn't know ghosts got hurt like that," a voice remarked. Danny blinked and turned to the voice. Three Red Huntresses were standing a few feet away.

"We can. I often do," Danny murmured, feeling a little sick. He had a concussion. He knew it. That meant no sleep tonight. Especially since he couldn't go to a doctor or the hospital.

"Your head is… bleeding I think," Valerie pointed out and edged a little closer. Danny blinked again and put a hand to where his headache started. He hissed in pain and looked at his gloved fingers and saw they were coated in sticky green ghost blood.

"I got hit pretty hard," Danny muttered.

"You sound funny too. Can ghosts get concussions?" Valerie asked, her puzzled frown visible through her visor. Danny nodded and groaned as his head spun even more than before.

"Yeah. At least I have one now. Why are you here?" Danny retorted blearily. Valerie sighed.

"My ghost detector told me there was a ghost here. Star's house is only around the corner. I was worried. Especially since her cousin got here this morning with her aunt. They don't know what it's like with ghosts. I came as fast as I could and saw you catching that spook," Valerie explained.

Danny hummed softly in understanding. Valerie hesitated a few moments before kneeling down near him. In the gloom from the orange streetlights around them, she examined Danny's head from a distance. Danny swallowed thickly, trying to stop himself getting sick. He was trying to figure out who was closest to his position, Sam or Tucker. He couldn't go home because Jazz was at college until next Thursday. He needed someone to watch him. He knew that. Jazz had nagged him enough the first time he got a concussion almost two years ago to drill that fact into him.

He jumped when a tentative hand touched his shoulder.

"Are… are you going to be okay?" Valerie asked nervously. Danny turned to her and blinked again, trying to merge the three Valeries together without success.

"This isn't my first concussion," he answered cryptically. Valerie lowered her visor to reveal a hesitantly concerned face.

"Why do you care? You've threatened to waste me for almost three years," Danny mumbled. Valerie sighed.

"I don't know. I guess, my eyes have been opened to the fact that people aren't always how I see them. A man I thought I could trust and look up to turned out to be… a cruel sadistic person who used me. I suppose I never really gave you a chance," Valerie admitted.

Danny blinked, trying to understand what Valerie was telling him but his head was throbbing painfully and the alley was still spinning around him. Valerie flashed him a nervous smile.

"Do you need help?" Valerie offered. Danny clenched his jaw and carefully got to his feet, groaning softly as his head hurt more and his side ached worse than ever. Valerie gasped.

"Your side! It's… it's injured. Bleeding," Valerie exclaimed, strangely alarmed. Danny blinked at her and kept a protective arm over his painful side. He could feel through his glove the flowing sticky liquid oozing out of his slashed side.

"I'll be okay. But thanks Valerie. For staying with me now. I have somewhere I can go to recover. But I don't think I'm gonna be able to keep patrolling tonight, sorry," Danny mumbled. Valerie scrambled to her feet.

"You're gonna fly aren't you. Is that a good idea with a concussion?" Valerie pointed out. Danny shrugged and slowly began to float off the ground.

"Wait, I'll follow you. Make sure you don't fall out of the sky. On someone. You know," Valerie suggested. Danny wanted to object but honestly the idea of someone making sure he didn't crash into a building or get into another ghost fight was comforting. He'd just have to dismiss Valerie when he got close to Sam's. It had taken a few minutes but Danny was certain that Sam's house was the closest to him. He tiredly nodded, closing his eyes briefly as the world spun a little faster. He had no idea how he was gonna find Sam's house and be able to dismiss Valerie without putting suspicion on Sam but he could just say that it was the neighbourhood behind her house or he got confused. It would be fine.

By the time he opened his eyes again, Valerie had activated her jet sled and was hovering a few feet away at his level. Danny cautiously floated higher until there were no buildings around him, Valerie dutifully following at a similar pace. Danny blinked into the gloom and scanned the surroundings. He needed to figure out which direction to head in. Which wasn't easy with a pounding, sickening headache and the world spinning around you. It took a few minutes, Valerie patiently waiting for Danny to get his bearings, but he realised where he was and that he needed to head north-west to get to Sam's. He was a lot closer than he realised. He carefully started to fly towards the Manson residence. Valerie slowly flew a couple of feet behind him, ready to swoop down and catch him or shout a warning to him.

Thankfully the flight was uneventful. They reached the end of Sam's road and Danny stopped, turning to face Valerie.

"Thanks Valerie but I can manage the rest of the way by myself. I'm pretty close now," Danny informed her. Valerie blinked and frowned.

"You don't trust me," she realised.

"Can you blame me? You tricked Dani before into catching me and then handing her over to Vlad," Danny pointed out gently. He didn't hold a grudge against her for that. Everything worked out, thanks to Valerie. But it did make him wary of putting trust in her. Valerie sighed and hung her head.

"I guess you're right. I don't have the best track record. But I'm not gonna hurt you Phantom. I promise," Valerie replied honestly.

"Valerie, it's not just me I'm worried about. I have friends," Danny carefully half-lied. Valerie blinked.

"Ghosts?" she assumed.

"You don't think I'm gonna wait out a concussion with no one. And how am I gonna treat this wound without help?" Danny retorted. Valerie opened her mouth before shrugging. Danny smiled.

"I'll be fine. Thanks Valerie," Danny assured her before floating down the street. He strained his ears and tried to ignore the throbbing in his head. Finally he heard her jet sled engines and glanced behind him to see her flying away.

He breathed a soft sigh of relief and floated on to Sam's house. He scanned the house and it took a moment for him to remember which window was Sam's. He tapped on her window and waited. It wasn't an emergency so he could wait for Sam to invite him in. The light flicked on and Sam walked over to the window in her shorts and tank top pyjamas, her hair was a mess and her eyes blurry with sleep. She pushed the window open and leant out of it.

"Danny? It's late. Can it wait until morning?" she mumbled.

"Sorry Sam. Ghost fight. I think I have a concussion and I hurt my side. Yours was closest," Danny explained softly, apologetically. Sam blinked, her eyes opening further as she became more alert.

"Oh. Come in," she whispered and stepped aside. Danny smirked. He floated through the window and landed on the ground. She switched on the main light and examined his eyes.

"Yeah, they look a bit unfocused. What was it?" Sam confirmed and dropped to her knees to pull out a first aid kit hidden under her bed.

"Shadow bear thing. Lots of teeth, sharp claws. It was fast too," Danny answered, sitting on her bed. She returned to his side and gently unzipped his jumpsuit and helped his left arm out so she could reach his slashed side.

"It's not that deep actually. You haven't hurt your ribs right?" Sam commented. Danny hummed a negative response.

"Valerie helped me," he blurted out.

"Valerie?" Sam repeated incredulously.

"Yeah. She stayed with me while I recovered enough to fly here, even offered to follow me so I didn't hurt myself more," Danny elaborated.

"Did she say why?" Sam asked curiously.

"Something about never giving me a chance. I'm not sure. I'd just hit my head," Danny muttered with a shrug.

Sam cleaned his wound and taped a dressing to his side. She placed bandages around his torso to ensure that the dressing didn't come off. She then helped him put his jumpsuit back on and examined his head. She hissed in sympathy.

"Looks painful. I'll try and get you some ice in a few minutes," Sam mumbled.

"I got ice covered," He chuckled and made a few angular ice cubes. Sam smirked.

"Not your best work Danny. But perfect," Sam remarked with a soft laugh, sneaking out of her room to the bathroom a few doors down and grabbed a towel to wrap the ice in. She returned and cleaned his head wound, settling beside him to wait out the night together listening to music and a few movies on her laptop, keeping the volume as low as possible to prevent being caught.

 **Just an ordinary evening for Danny, well except for the whole Valerie helping him thing. Remember Clockwork did say that Danny and Valerie had numerous truces over the years.**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far**

 **Don't forget to check out my website and look at my special anniversary page. There's links to it on the news page and sneak peaks page. There's polls and more will be added soon. But it will only be there until the end of this month. Don't miss out. There's a link to my website in my bio.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	12. Chapter 12

"Samantha Manson! What is _he_ doing here?!" Pamela screeched. Danny fell off the bed in a half-asleep panic and Sam sat up, scanning her room in alarm.

"Mrs Manson! Er… sorry, I um came over to uh get-" Danny scrambled to his feet trying to come up with a convincing lie.

"Get out! Get out of my house!" Pamela ordered outraged. Danny brushed past her and ran out of the house, past Yazmin and Eric who were peering out of their room in confusion.

"Mom!" Sam shouted in an angry reprimanding tone.

"No! Samantha! I don't want that boy in my house! Especially at night! What was he doing here?!" Pamela retorted sternly.

"Nothing! We were just watching movies and listening to music. He came over last night to borrow a book and we got distracted," Sam semi-lied.

"Last night! He's been here all night! In your room!" Pamela exclaimed.

"It's not a big deal!" Sam snapped.

"Yes it is! You could have been doing anything here!" Pamela yelled.

"Mom! We just hung out!" Sam gasped, shocked at what her mother was suggesting.

"What's going on?" Sam's grandmother asked, trundling in on her scooter.

"Mom's just telling me that she doesn't trust me," Sam muttered angrily, glaring at Pamela.

"I trust _you_. I don't trust that _boy_ ," Pamela retorted stiffly.

"But _I_ do! Danny respects me. He'd never do anything like that," Sam snapped heatedly.

"Alright! Alright you two. Calm down. Sam, no more visits from Danny at night without permission. Pamela, no harm done so let's just chalk this up to bad judgement on both of their behalves," Sam's grandmother interjected seeing that this was one of the more heated arguments which threatened to go on for hours, if not days. Sam and Pamela sighed and nodded stiffly in agreement.

"Good. Pamela, let's leave Sam to get dressed," Sam's grandmother concluded. Pamela spun on her heel and marched out of Sam's bedroom, storming through the house to the kitchen.

Sam stalked over to her wardrobe and pulled out a black t-shirt with a purple starburst on it.

"Sammy. You can tell me. I'm not going to get angry. What did you and Danny do last night?" her grandmother asked. Sam glowered at the elderly woman.

"Great! Now you don't trust me!" Sam snarled.

"That's not what I said. I'm just checking that you haven't made a mistake," her grandmother interjected calmly. Sam sighed loudly.

"We just watched movies. Listened to music. We fell asleep by accident," Sam admitted, completely honest. Her grandmother nodded and smiled kindly.

"That's fine Sam. Thank you for telling me. I'll let you get ready. If you want to run off to the mall with your new friends, take some cash from my purse. It's in the hall," her grandmother muttered with a conspirator's wink. Sam grinned and embraced her grandmother.

"Thanks Grandma," Sam mumbled in her ear.

Sam's grandmother smiled and drove her scooter out of her granddaughter's bedroom. Sam turned back to the wardrobe and dug out a pair of black jeans. She brushed her hair and decided to leave it down for a change. She pulled out some underwear, shut her door and got dressed. She dropped down at her desk, pulling her mirror to herself and put on her make-up. She puckered her lips to put on her lipstick and then applied her mascara. She was just riffling through the first aid kit under her bed to make sure it was fully stocked, having already put away her laptop, when there was a knock on her door. She shoved the kit back under the bed before calling for whoever knocked to come in. Eric and Yazmin edged into her room.

"Er, what was all that stuff this morning?" Eric asked warily.

"Oh, nothing. Mom just caught Danny in here. He got into a ghost fight last night and hit his head. He had a concussion and needed someone to help him stay awake. I think we managed until four," Sam explained. Yazmin and Eric blinked in surprise.

"Oh. So that's why he was here," Yazmin mumbled. Sam shrugged.

"Well, Mom and I aren't really friends right now so we'll get breakfast in the mall," Sam told them. Yazmin and Eric shared a confused, surprised look.

"I thought she was coming with us. So you could go prom dress shopping," Eric recalled.

"Oh like we were ever gonna agree on a dress," Sam scoffed, resuming her check in the first aid kit. She clicked the small box shut and returned it to its home under the bed, she didn't need to restock it yet, and slipped her house key and wrist ray into her jeans pocket.

"Come on," Sam encouraged, grabbing her phone off her beside cabinet as she crossed the room to leave.

Sam led the way through the house, pausing to grab some cash from her grandmother's purse, hissing to the halfas that her grandmother told her it was okay when they expressed a concern. It didn't take long for them to reach the mall.

"Let's get some breakfast before we start shopping for you two," Sam suggested. Both halfas nodded eagerly and they strolled through the quiet mall to the food court. They had started shopping for Eric first when Danny and Tucker found them. Tucker laughing and Danny scowling at his friend in annoyance.

"It's not funny Tuck," Danny hissed.

"Sure it is! Sam's mom caught you sleeping in her room. It's totally funny," Tucker chuckled. Sam narrowed her eyes at the techno-geek.

"Tucker, do I have to remind you I'm wearing combat boots and had very little sleep. Not to mention that I'm in a bad mood," Sam growled while they waited for Eric to come out of the dressing room after taking in an armful of jeans and shirts. Tucker gulped and edged a few steps away from the Goth.

"You didn't get into too much trouble right?" Danny asked worriedly.

"Nah, Grandma smoothed things over. Actually things worked out pretty well, considering. Mom was gonna come with to do dress shopping for prom. Although I had to tell both of them that we didn't do anything last night," Sam reassured him. Danny frowned in confusion while Tucker roared with renewed laughter, Sam blushing slightly.

"Oh man! This just gets funnier!" Tucker gasped.

"It was not funny," Sam snarled.

"I don't…" Danny mumbled. Sam sighed.

"They thought we um might have well you know. Done _it_ ," Sam muttered. Danny blanched.

"What!? I'd never! You know that! And it was only… only because of what happened," Danny stuttered. Sam huffed.

"I know. But try telling my mom that," Sam grumbled. Danny shook his head in despair.

"Oh no. Your mom is totally gonna call my parents about this," Danny groaned.

Eric strolled out of the dressing room with three pairs of jeans and five tops over his arm, the rest left on a rail behind him.

"Oh hey Danny, Tucker," Eric greeted them, nervously glancing at Yazmin who looked a little uncomfortable.

"Okay, let me get this straight with you two. I was only in Sam's room last night because I got into a fight and got hurt. Sam's was closest at the time. I didn't mean to spend the whole night there. Usually I leave before anyone else wakes up. Nothing happened," Danny ground out, his face tinged pink. Eric blinked.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me," Eric muttered. Despite Danny only being a year older than him, Eric couldn't help but see Danny as his ancestor. Therefore he looked at Danny as someone much older than him. Besides he understood that for he and Yazmin to exist certain things must have happened between Danny and Sam. Yazmin nodded in agreement, feeling much the same way. Danny nodded curtly.

"Well, just thought I should clarify. Nothing happened," Danny concluded.

"Come on Eric, I'll pay for those and then we can go back to that shop we were in yesterday for Yazmin," Sam decided, eager to move on from the awkwardness. Eric nodded and they disappeared off to the cashiers.

"So, you caught the ghost I take it," Tucker commented. Danny nodded, leaning casually against a wall, folding his arms.

"Yeah. It wasn't exactly a hard ghost to fight but it was fast and had a lot of teeth and claws. Kinda knew I wasn't gonna walk away without an injury," Danny replied with a shrug. Tucker nodded in understanding.

"Where is it now?" Tucker asked.

"Ghost Zone. Where else did I run when Sam's mom chased me out of the house?" Danny answered. Tucker sniggered.

"Tuck. Stop laughing. It was not funny. I nearly had a heart attack. Thank God I was human at the time," Danny growled. Tucker quickly sobered up.

"She didn't see anything right? I mean, you didn't have bandages on your head or anything," Tucker whispered. Danny shook his head.

"No. My head wasn't that bad. Small cut and a concussion. It was more my side. Sam treated it when I was in ghost mode so I had my shirt on," Danny told him.

"Your side?" Yazmin inquired in confusion. Danny nodded seriously.

"Got hit by its paw. It was some kind of shadow bear thing. Slashed open my side. I took some pain killers before I left home," Danny elaborated.

"Any other ghosts last night?" Tucker wondered. Danny shook his head.

"Just that bear thing. But I did see Valerie. She actually helped me. Made sure I got to Sam's street without flying into a building or something," Danny informed his friend. Yazmin gasped, both boys turned to her with confused, curious frowns.

"Sorry, I thought only Sam and Tucker knew about your secret. Isn't that a big deal?" Yazmin bluffed. Danny sighed.

"My sister knows too and there's another halfa. But Valerie doesn't know. Valerie's… complicated," Danny muttered in explanation, rubbing the back of his neck.

"She didn't see where you went?" Tucker asked worriedly. Danny shook his head.

"Nah. I wasn't that bad. I managed to get her to leave me before I got too close to Sam's. The weird thing is that Valerie seemed almost upset that I didn't want her to see exactly where I was going," Danny reassured him. Yazmin bit the inside of her cheek worriedly. Had they missed their chance to convince Danny into letting Valerie into his trusted circle?

Sam and Eric returned to them with his new clothes in a shopping bag. For the next hour, the group of five went into numerous clothes shops buying clothes for Yazmin and Eric, making sure to remember underwear and sleepwear. Then they walked to Fenton Works. Danny invited the halfas to leave their shopping in his bedroom and led the way down to the lab. His parents tended to spend the mornings patrolling for ghosts before returning in the afternoon to invent and examine any ghosts they managed to catch. They bundled into the Spectre Speeder, kindly made and maintained by Jack Fenton but who still was unaware that it was a functioning Ghost Zone vessel. Danny gave the halfas an impromptu lecture on the Ghost Zone, assuming that they'd never been there before and neither teen corrected him, welcoming the lesson.

 **So this chapter is getting a little long. I have to admit, Danny getting caught in Sam's room was a spur of the moment decision but I'm glad I added it. I really enjoyed writing about it.**

 **Let me know your thoughts though.**

 **Next the group are going to Frostbite to get some answers.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	13. Chapter 13

They arrived at the Far Frozen just over an hour later. Eric and Yazmin shifted into their ghost forms, following Danny's example while Sam and Tucker dug out a couple of Fenton coats to wear. They stepped out of the Speeder and Danny led the way through the village and into a cave which took them underground. They saw numerous yeti-like ghosts with icy horns and brown rags for clothes. The ghosts, the inhabitants of the Far Frozen, were friendly and welcoming towards the group.

"Danny Phantom! And friends! Welcome!" a loud booming voice shouted happily as a Far Frozen ghost with royal blue rags and an arm reduced to bone encased in ice approached them. Danny grinned and waved to the ghost.

"Hey Frostbite. Great to see you. Mind if I ask for a favour?" Danny greeted brightly. Frostbite laughed and shook his head.

"Of course not Great One. Name your desire," Frostbite answered.

"This is Eric and Yazmin. They're halfas like me. Eric has ice powers but his are limited, I was hoping that you could check why. And maybe check Yazmin too," Danny requested, glancing at Yazmin who shrugged in response. Frostbite grinned, eagerly agreeing and ushering them towards the Far Frozen medical facility within the network of underground ice caves.

Eric nervously sat down on a table and Frostbite scanned him with a strange device before repeating the process with Yazmin. Then he took a blood sample from both of their halves and called one of the Far Frozen physicians to check the data for him. Frostbite offered to give the new halfas a tour of the village while they waited for the results. They eagerly agreed. Danny, Sam and Tucker trailed along behind Frostbite, Eric and Yazmin.

"Anything to tell me?" Tucker asked, glancing at both Sam and Danny.

"Why are you asking me? I didn't see them," Danny retorted with a puzzled frown. Tucker shrugged.

"Nothing really to tell either of you. They ate pasta last night. My mom doesn't approve of them. I don't think they know each other really well but they seem close. It's weird. Like they met recently but have been through a lot together," Sam muttered quietly.

"Huh. If they've been on the streets together, that kind of makes sense," Danny remarked. Sam sighed and shrugged.

"Doesn't excuse the fact that they lied about being siblings. But I do get the impression that they've lost their parents. Dad asked them about their family and they both went quiet for a second before saying that both of their parents work a lot," Sam admitted, glancing at the younger teens grinning excitedly listening to Frostbite.

"Maybe they met around the time one of them lost their parents and looked out for each other afterwards," Tucker guessed.

"My guess, if that's true, Eric lost his parents more recently than Yazmin. Yazmin recovered quicker from my parents' prodding." Sam commented.

"I wonder how they became halfas then. If they're lying to us about their parents and being siblings, then having ghost hunter parents doesn't make sense. Didn't really make sense from the start. Me and Jazz have basically grown up with ectoplasmic food and I didn't get my powers until the accident. Jazz is normal," Danny mused. Sam and Tucker blinked in surprise and glanced at Danny.

"So they've lied about everything. Can we even be sure they met Danielle and their names?" Tucker hissed.

"No, their names have to be true. They answer to them too readily for them to be lies as well. Or at least they use those names regularly," Sam interjected.

"And how else would they know about Dani unless they met her. I don't think they know about Vlad," Danny added. Tucker bit his lip and nodded slowly.

"Alright. But what else have they told us?" Tucker relented.

Danny sighed and glanced at the three ghosts ahead of them.

"Look, I don't know who they are. I don't think they're dangerous. But I'm hoping Frostbite can help us figure some stuff out. Why did you think I asked him to check Yazmin too?" Danny muttered. Sam and Tucker grinned.

"Who knew you could be so sneaky and underhand," Sam whispered.

"I learned from the best. Vlad might be a fruit loop but he knows how to play the system," Danny sighed. Sam and Tucker frowned in dislike. Danny shrugged. Before long they returned to the medical facility and the physician revealed his findings.

"So you know why my ice powers are different to Danny's?" Eric asked hopefully.

"I do. I don't understand how, but both of your cores aren't energised," the ghost told them.

"What does that mean?" Yazmin pressed, confused. The physician tapped on a nearby computer and an outline of Danny appeared on the screen, a bright blue and green light shining from his chest.

"This is Danny Phantom's energy read out. On file from when his ice core activated. And this is Yazmin and Eric's," the physician began. Two more outlines appeared on either side of Danny, one was Eric with a dim green and blue light in his chest and one was Yazmin with a dull purple glow in her chest.

"Danny's core is energised from his accident. But Yazmin and Eric, they're cores aren't energised for some strange reason. It may be related to how they got their powers initially. But without that energy, they're powers are hampered which could explain why Eric's ice powers are limited," the physician explained.

"Can we energise them now, I mean, after getting our powers?" Yazmin asked. The physician hummed thoughtfully.

"Leave it with me. Halfas are a fairly new breed of ghost. Their intricacies aren't fully explored as of yet," the ghost answered.

Danny pulled the physician to one side while Eric and Yazmin thanked Frostbite, Sam and Tucker covering for him.

"Sorry, I just wanted to ask if you could tell how they got their powers? You see we don't really know them and I'm trying to figure out if I should trust them or not," Danny muttered quietly. The ghost blinked in surprise and glanced at Yazmin and Eric.

"I can look into it for you Great One," the ghost offered.

"Thanks. Anything you need, let me know and I'll try to get it. I'll be back tonight or tomorrow," Danny mumbled. The ghost smiled and inclined his head to the halfa. Danny grinned gratefully before returning to Sam's side.

"They'll look into it for us," Danny informed her. She nodded seriously.

They returned to Fenton Works and Sam, Yazmin and Eric grabbed their shopping and returned to Sam's house. Danny and Tucker went up to Danny's room and started their homework, Danny catching up on missed notes. Twenty minutes later the phone rang. Danny frowned in the direction of the ringing, knowing who was on the other side of the call. He phased down through the floor, knowing his parents weren't back yet, and answered it.

"Hello, Fenton Works," Danny trilled.

"Oh, it's you," Pamela grumbled.

"Hi Mrs Manson. My parents are still out patrolling the city. But I'd like to apologise for this morning. I honestly meant no harm and stayed over completely by accident," Danny replied, fighting to keep his voice calm and civil, which was hard when the other end of the line only held contempt for him.

"Listen to me. I don't care if it was an accident, on purpose or something in between. Stop corrupting my daughter. If I had my way, I'd reinstate that restraining order on you. I forbid you from entering my house. Do I make myself clear," Pamela hissed angrily. Danny drew the phone away from his mouth to sigh.

"Yes Mrs Manson. You've made it perfectly clear to me that I'm not welcome. But the fact is, Sam is my girlfriend. I respect her. I'm never going to do anything to hurt her. I'm sorry for this morning, I really am. Would like me to ask my parents to call you when they get back?" Danny offered as politely as he could manage. He knew he'd never win against Pamela. Jeremy at least hid his hatred of Danny when Danny was around.

"Do. I'll be calling back anyway so don't think I won't be having a word with them," Pamela answered and hung up.

Danny returned to his bedroom and sat down on the floor beside Tucker, leaning against his bed.

"Who was it?" Tucker asked.

"Who do you think? I'm banned from Sam's house," Danny retorted with a frown.

"Ouch. Wait, how is that even gonna work? I mean, even without Phantom stuff, you're gonna pick her up for prom right?" Tucker sympathised.

"I think I'm allowed on the doorstep. Mrs Manson just doesn't want me in the house. But I'm gonna have to be extra careful for a while. She threatened to reinstate that restraining order on me," Danny replied. Tucker winced.

"What happened this morning that made her hate you so much?" Tucker exclaimed. Danny shook his head, grabbing his English homework.

"I think it was the shock of seeing me there. I mean, all we did was listen to music and watch movies on Sam's laptop. I didn't even take my shoes off. Sam dropped off around four, I managed until the end of the movie before I fell asleep. My head was much better so I figured I'd be okay. Next thing we know Mrs Manson's in the room screaming at us. She told me to leave and I ran for it. No way was I staying any longer than I had to with her that angry," Danny recalled with a helpless shrug.

"Dude, don't take this the wrong way. But maybe you shouldn't have run off. Maybe you should have stayed to explain with Sam and smooth this over. From the sounds of it, you looked pretty suspicious and guilty. You had nothing to be ashamed of right?" Tucker commented, handing Danny his English homework worksheet. Danny sighed.

"You don't get it Tuck. She likes you. She thinks I'm corrupting Sam or whatever. You don't disappear off all the time, appear with bruises and scrapes and lame excuses like falling down the stairs. That excuse only works the first two or three times before people figure out I'm lying. And that whole thing with Circus Gothica just told them that I was a bad influence. Sam's mom hates me Tuck. Loathes me. Despises me. You try staying in the same room as her when she's furious. I bet ghosts would have been afraid of her this morning," Danny explained. Tucker hummed in understanding.

"So what are you going to do?" Tucker asked.

"Tell my parents what happened before Mrs Manson does and keep my head down for as long as possible," Danny answered with a grim smile.

 **So, Eric and Yazmin need to energise their cores and Danny has been banned from Sam's house.**

 **I figure that Pamela would use this opportunity to try to put some distance between her daughter and Danny.**

 **Let me know what you think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	14. Chapter 14

Danny and Tucker were in the kitchen getting some lunch when Jack and Maddie Fenton returned to their home. Jack Fenton was a large man with a bright day glow orange jumpsuit. He was hard to miss. But his face was almost constantly stuck in a broad grin, laughter lines around his blue eyes. He dropped the Fenton Weasel, a modified vacuum cleaner that caught ghosts, on the kitchen table. Maddie Fenton was a strong, independent woman wearing a teal blue jumpsuit similar to her husband. She had short reddish brown hair and purple eyes.

"Hi boys. No Sam?" Maddie greeted them.

"We were with Sam earlier," Tucker informed them.

"Uh, right. Mom, dad. I need to explain something. Can we sit down?" Danny asked nervously. Tucker quickly excused himself.

"Danny, is something wrong?" Maddie inquired worriedly.

"Um, not exactly. Last night… I er went to Sam's. We hung out in her room listening to music and watching movies. I swear! That's all that happened. But um well Sam's parents didn't really know I was there and we fell asleep by accident," Danny explained, trying desperately to keep his voice even.

"That's alright Danny. We trust you. But next time maybe you should tell one of Sam's parents that you're there," Jack replied, concern already being replaced by his easy-going smile.

"Uh, it's not that simple. Mrs Manson… found me in Sam's room this morning. Sam's housing some exchange students and they were all gonna go shopping together. Mrs Manson was really angry and has forbidden me from going to Sam's house from now on. And she wants to talk to you guys. I thought you should hear it from me first," Danny resumed. Maddie frowned.

"Thank you for telling us Danny. I do think that Pamela's over reacting a little but I'll talk to her," Maddie remarked. Danny nodded and made to get up.

"But I do think that this calls for an embarrassing father-son chat," Jack interjected. Danny groaned softly, he knew this was coming. He slumped back in his seat and motioned for his father to start. Maddie smiled at them before getting up and heading to the living room to call Pamela.

"Right, when you're in a relationship Danny. Sometimes you might feel… urges to do certain things. But you have to be sure that you and your partner, Sam, want those things. And you need to be sure it's not just hormones. When you decide to act on those feelings, make sure you're prepared. Always use protection son," Jack began and Danny moaned softly under his breath and dropped his head on the kitchen table beside the Fenton Weasel.

"Stupid concussion," he mumbled into the wood, quieter than Jack could hear.

Maddie dialled the Manson's phone number and waited for someone to answer the phone.

"Hello?" Sam answered.

"Hi Sam. Is your mother there?" Maddie greeted warmly.

"Uh, I'm not sure," Sam lied uncertainly.

"Sam, Danny already told me what happened this morning. Your mom wants to talk to us and I want to talk to her. You don't need to protect him," Maddie soothed her kindly.

"Oh. Just a sec," Sam mumbled sheepishly.

"Maddie?" Pamela called a few moments later.

"Hiya Pamela. Just got back from ghost hunting. Danny told me what happened this morning and how you've banned him from your house," Maddie began.

"Good, what are you going to do to get that boy under control? Because next time I catch him in my house I'll have him arrested and get that restraining order reinstated," Pamela warned.

"Pamela, I think that that's a tad extreme. I agree that he shouldn't have stayed over the night without permission but there was no harm done. Perhaps we should call this a warning and if it happens again, we'll take action. Jack's talking with Danny now," Maddie suggested. She knew her son meant no harm by what happened. She could see he was being completely honest with them. Yes, her son could be secretive but everyone deserved their privacy and a young man had his own life to lead. It was part of growing up.

"Talking! Your son is out of control Maddie! He came into my house last night without anyone knowing and slept in my daughter's bed, with her! He's a bad influence. And it's high time you did something about it," Pamela exclaimed sharply.

"Now wait just one minute! My son is not a bad influence. He's a sweet, kind young man. If anyone in Danny's group of friends is a little on the wild side, it's Sam. But they're all good kids," Maddie argued.

"I don't see _my_ daughter sneaking into other people's houses in the dead of night!" Pamela growled.

"Pamela, Danny is not a bad influence. I will not uphold your ridiculous rules," Maddie retorted.

"I am trying to protect my daughter!" Pamela snarled.

"From someone that she doesn't need protection from. Pamela, they're a couple. They're seventeen. Almost adults. If you can't trust Sam enough to say no, then clearly you don't believe that she's ready for college. You aren't going to always be there," Maddie replied sternly.

"I trust my daughter!" Pamela exclaimed sharply.

"Then prove it. Let her and Danny deal with what happened this morning. I think they both understand that what happened was wrong. I know Danny knows that. I think he also realises what assumptions you made due to the situation. But he's told us nothing happened and I believe him," Maddie retorted. Pamela was silent for a few minutes.

"I believe that we need to punish them. I will lift the ban after prom. But until then it stays. But… I'll add that as long as Sam isn't alone with Danny, he can come over. But not at night!" Pamela relented.

"Thank you Pamela. I'm sure that this won't happen again," Maddie concluded before finishing the call. Danny walked out of the kitchen with a slightly horrified expression as he practically ran upstairs to his bedroom. Maddie smirked.

"I think that an embarrassing chat with Jack was punishment enough," Maddie muttered to herself.

Danny shut the door behind him and leant against it. Tucker looked up from his PDA.

"That bad?" Tucker remarked taking in his friend's expression.

"Worse. My dad somehow makes every embarrassing father-son talk worse each time," Danny groaned. Tucker sniggered.

"Well, next time don't fall asleep," Tucker retorted. Danny glared at his friend.

"I didn't plan it!" he snapped. Tucker shrugged.

"Want me to tag along for patrol tonight?" Tucker offered. Danny shrugged.

"If you want. But if I get hurt, I'll be going to yours, fair warning," Danny replied. Tucker nodded.

"I haven't checked my first aid kit in a while so I'll need to buy some bandages and pain killers today," Tucker informed his friend. Danny nodded and picked up his math homework, sinking on to his bed to finish it.

An hour later, Danny and Tucker decided to patrol the town, having done their homework, before heading to Tucker's house to play video games, popping into a pharmacy for medical supplies on the way. Danny was trying to do as much homework as he could in order to avoid flunking the year. They had to stop to fight three ghosts, the Box Ghost, an ecto-pus and a massive drooling monster ghost thing that Danny ended up chasing for ten blocks before he managed to catch it. By the time they reached Tucker's house is was nearly dinnertime and Danny was tired, not helped by the fact that he had very little sleep the previous night. So Tucker suggested that Danny have a nap and Tucker started to research Eric and Yazmin Thompson. Tucker's mother, Angela, invited Danny to eat with the Foleys and then Danny began to patrol the town.

Danny was just about to call it a night when he heard Valerie approach on her jet sled.

"Hey Phantom! I didn't expect to see you out here tonight," Valerie called to him, lowering her visor. Danny blinked, surprised by the huntress's friendliness.

"Uh, I wasn't that badly hurt. Just a scratch and a headache really. Sorry, but why are you being so nice to me?" Danny inquired.

"I told you last night," Valerie reminded him with a slight frown, almost concerned.

"You did? I er… honestly I don't really remember a lot from last night. Mind telling me again?" Danny requested nervously. Valerie nodded sympathetically.

"I said that I was betrayed by someone I looked up to. It made me realise that I never really gave you a chance. You apologised to me. I guess that evil stuff you did, it was circumstantial. So, I'm willing to… well give you a second chance. And you really needed someone to make sure you were okay last night," Valerie explained. Danny nodded slowly.

"Well thanks. I really am sorry about what happened to you. And I swear that dog isn't mine. All he wanted at the time was a squeaky toy left at Axion Labs before he died. And um when I destroyed your last suit, uh I knew you weren't in it. Technus was controlling it. Using it to set us against each other," Danny replied.

Valerie raised an eyebrow before sighing.

"I don't want to talk about that stuff anymore Phantom. Can we start fresh? Anything bad we've done to each other… it's in the past. Deal?" Valerie offered and held a hand out to the ghost. Danny blinked before smirking and shaking her hand, ignoring the involuntary shiver she had due to being in contact with him in his chilled ghost form.

"Deal. Any questions you have, feel free to ask me. I can't promise that I'll be able to answer you but I'll do my best," Danny agreed. Valerie smiled gratefully.

"I have work tomorrow night so I won't be able to help out," Valerie muttered nervously. Danny nodded.

"No problem. I try not to rely on ghost hunters helping me," Danny remarked with a cautious smirk. Valerie nodded.

"I need to check on something in the Ghost Zone, so I'm gonna call it a night. I shouldn't be longer than an hour or two," Danny informed her warily, eager to get home and check in with the Far Frozen before getting a few hours' sleep. Valerie blinked before nodding in understanding.

"That's fine. I mean, er thanks for telling me. You don't need to tell me stuff like that. But um not saying I'm not grateful that you told me. I'll… er I'll just shut up and go home now," Valerie rambled and blushed with embarrassment. Danny chuckled softly.

"You're welcome. This is weird for me too. I'm used to running away from you rather than talking to you," Danny assured her before waving and flying towards Fenton Works, texting Tucker that he finished patrolling to make sure his friend didn't get worried about him.

 **Another Valerie sighting!**

 **That Danny/Sam embarrassment is more-or-less resolved now, apart from the whole ban from Sam's house of course.**

 **Anyway, let me know what you guys think. I love hearing your opinions and thoughts**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	15. Chapter 15

The next day Danny met up with Tucker before meeting up with Sam, Eric and Yazmin at the warehouse they used the previous Friday. Danny was going to train Yazmin and maybe Eric a little.

"So, anything to report?" Tucker asked as Fenton Works disappeared around the corner.

"Unfortunately no. I went to the Far Frozen last night. They asked for a blood and ectoplasm sample from me to compare to Eric and Yazmin's. But they didn't have any news. Last night was a normal night, a couple of blobs and a fish ghost. Trust me that fish thing was worse than it sounds. Actually saw Valerie again last night. It's so weird. She's being super nice to Phantom. You don't think she knows do you?" Danny informed his friend. Tucker frowned.

"We could check. Valerie's still working at the Nasty Burger. We could swing by and see if she acts different towards you as human too," Tucker suggested. Danny nodded.

"She told Phantom that she was working tonight," Danny added. Tucker blinked and glanced at Danny who nodded seriously.

"I know. Weird," he confirmed.

"Anything on Eric and Yazmin?" Danny wondered. Tucker shook his head with a frown.

"Nothing," he reported.

"Well, that's good right?" Danny assumed uncertainly. Tucker shook his head again.

"No Danny. I mean nothing. They don't exist. I checked a lot of different databases and missing persons for a picture of them. But Eric and Yazmin Thompson don't exist," Tucker corrected.

"Maybe they lied about their names after all," Danny muttered.

"Dude, I spent hours going through missing person reports and none of them looked anything like those guys," Tucker corrected.

"Maybe they were never reported," Danny countered. Tucker shook his head.

"Maybe they thought they were dead," Danny added.

"Dude, face it. They don't technically exist. Neither does Danielle! They must be clones and the only person we know that clones you is Vlad," Tucker retorted. Danny sighed.

"I don't feel that kind of connection to them. I felt like I knew or at least recognised the other clones. I don't feel like that with Eric or Yazmin. They can't be clones," Danny argued.

Tucker scowled but didn't argue further. They reached the warehouse a few minutes later and Sam arrived with Yazmin and Eric five minutes later. Danny smiled at his girlfriend.

"Hey. Things okay between you and your mom?" Danny asked carefully. Sam shrugged.

"As good as they get. By the way she told me to tell you if I saw you that you're not allowed into the house alone or at night, but if Tucker's there then you can come in," Sam recalled with a frown. Danny blinked.

"I thought I was banned, period," Danny retorted. Sam shrugged.

"Guess your mom convinced my mom to go easier on you," Sam offered.

"She does know that I'm not exactly gonna stop you guys right?" Tucker interjected. Sam smirked.

"Probably reckons that if we're not alone then we'll not do anything," Sam replied. Yazmin and Eric glanced at each other. Danny pecked his girlfriend on the cheek and muttered a soft apology for all the trouble before turning to the younger halfas.

"Alright. Let's work on flying. Remember how to change forms?" Danny began the lesson, looking pointedly at Yazmin. She nodded and closed her eyes in concentration as she shifted forms. Eric changed forms at the same time easily. Danny nodded in approval.

"Okay. Eric, you up for flying a bit more today?" Danny asked. Eric nodded nervously. Danny smiled and shifted into his own ghost form.

"Good. Yazmin, have you ever floated before?" Danny inquired. Yazmin shook her head.

"No. Never," she admitted nervously.

"Not a problem. Ghosts are from another world, the Ghost Zone. That place follows different rules. It's the flipside of this world. Which means in our ghost forms, we don't belong in this world. We can chose which rules we follow. I'm not great at physics but I'll do my best to explain. We see by light reflecting off objects and bouncing back to us. That reflected light forms an image in our eyes. As ghosts, we can turn invisible. Stopping light from reflecting off us. The same with turning intangible. Solid objects can't pass through other solid objects. But we can shift our being so that we become a gas with form. That can pass through or around solid objects. Flying is us defying gravity. With me so far?" Danny explained carefully. A lot of these things came naturally or instinctively. Explaining them to someone else wasn't easy.

Yazmin nodded. Eric was again surprised by the familiarity of the lesson. It was chillingly similar to how his father had taught him how to use his powers. Danny nodded.

"Mass has weight. Gravity pulls on that weight to keep it rooted to the ground. To fly, you have to believe first that you're weightless. Then to control how high up you go, you need to decide how heavy you want to feel. If you feel a few pounds lighter, you should just hover a few inches off the ground. We'll start with that Yazmin," Danny instructed. Yazmin nodded, a slightly overwhelmed and confused expression on her face but determination shone through as she shut her eyes and filled her mind with the thought of being lighter than she truly was.

"Yazmin! Slow down!" Danny yelped seconds before she hit her head painfully. She cried out in surprised pain and opened her eyes. She gasped as she saw that she had hit her head on the ceiling. Her mind went blank and she plummeted back down to the ground. Danny rushed up to meet her and caught her before she hurt herself.

"Is she okay!?" Tucker yelled. Danny held Yazmin to himself as he floated back down to the ground gently. She was shaking from the shock.

"I think so. You okay?" Danny replied and gently jostled the girl to get her attention. Yazmin gulped down her shock and nodded mutedly.

"I-I think so," she stammered. Danny carefully set her on the ground, standing up, keeping a steadying hand around her shoulders.

"Good thing you did this indoors," Sam remarked worriedly as she crossed the room with Tucker and Eric who had backed away to give the halfas some space for the lesson. Yazmin shuddered at the thought. If she had been outside, she might never have stopped.

"It's alright Yazmin. At least you know what you have to do to fly. You just imagined yourself too light. Try again. Don't worry, I'm right here if you need me," Danny reassured the girl, gently removing his hand. Yazmin gulped nervously before nodding. She took a deep breath and warily repeated what she did to fly but imagined herself only slightly lighter. Gradually her body began to rise off the ground so that she hovered a few inches above the concrete floor. Danny nodded with an encouraging smile.

"Much better. Great job Yazmin. Try going a little higher. Just imagine yourself getting a little lighter," Danny suggested. Yazmin glanced at him before nervously obeying. She focused on feeling a little lighter and she jumped up a foot. She squeaked in alarm. Danny smiled.

"Think of shedding the weight rather than thinking you're lighter, makes flying smoother," Danny advised. Yazmin glanced down at Danny still standing on the ground, and nodded shakily.

"Try another foot and we'll move on to going in directions other than up and down," Danny instructed. Yazmin swallowed down the urge to whine. She was not enjoying this lesson. Not like her lesson with her ghost ray. This flying stuff was frightening.

"How did you learn this?" she demanded fearfully.

"Trial, error and a lot of hitting my head on ceilings," Danny answered readily. Tucker snorted loudly.

"Remember when you started going up to the ceiling upside down and then crashed right on your head," Tucker laughed.

"Not the time Tuck," Danny grumbled. Yazmin forced a frightened groan down her throat. But she obediently floated up another foot, this time taking Danny's advice on board and going slower.

Danny smiled. He jumped into the air and easily flew to her level.

"Great job Yazmin. Moving around is simple enough once you get the basics of going up and down. To change your body position in the air you need to spread your weight through your body. If you want to lay down on your back, imagine that your back is heavier than your stomach and you should just drift into that position," Danny informed her and demonstrated. Yazmin licked her lips nervously.

"Okay," she mumbled and copied him, yelping in shock as her body suddenly fell back into a similar position to Danny.

"Remember to move gradually, you have to imagine the weight moves gradually. Don't worry, it takes practice to get right. You're doing fine," Danny reminded her kindly before righting himself. Yazmin nodded and slowly righted herself also. Danny smiled approvingly.

"To move right, is a little different. You need to imagine the air around you is splitting. Once split you can then imagine your weight filling that void. Like you're pouring yourself into the space left by the air," Danny resumed, drifting lazily to his right. Yazmin bit her lip and imagine it happening to herself. This time it was slow and gradual, not alarming. Danny grinned.

"Now you're getting it. Going fast is the same except you have to imagine that you have power at the soles of your feet that can propel you in that direction. Flying after that is simple," Danny added and shot off across the warehouse. Yazmin frowned worriedly but prepared to follow his lead.

"It helps if you direct your body in the direction you want to go in," Danny shouted to her before she copied him. She blinked and repositioned her body into a lying down position before speeding towards Danny. He caught her before she hit the wall.

"Brilliant. Flying fast can drain you because you're using up energy. Just a warning. So why don't you keep practicing that and I'll get Eric in the air," Danny praised her. Yazmin nervously agreed and tentatively started to drift around the room, sometimes squealing in alarm as she went a little too fast or lost altitude by accident.

Danny flew to Eric and he obediently floated up into the air a few feet. Danny then instructed Eric to follow him around the warehouse, telling Eric to be careful around Yazmin. Eric sighed and nodded. He didn't like flying but he was getting more confident. It helped that he could trust Danny to catch him if he faltered. Not that he hadn't trusted his father but during their training, Eric's father hadn't changed forms in order to avoid triggering nearby ghost detectors. One ghost was enough risk. Having a human explain everything rather than a ghost was different and it had made Eric feel a little vulnerable and alone.

 **I know not much. But it's bonding between the halfas and a training session.**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Don't forget to check out my website and the anniversary page. There's a link to my website in my bio and links to the anniversary page on the news page and the sneak peaks page. It has polls there but the page will only be up for the duration of this fanfic. Don't miss out!**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	16. Chapter 16

Hours later, Yazmin and Eric stumbled tiredly along behind Sam, Tucker and Danny as they walked to the Nasty Burger for some dinner. Danny had his arm around Sam's shoulders and Tucker was talking animatedly about a PDA due to come out for next Christmas.

"Tucker, it's not even summer break yet," Sam chuckled.

"So?! They gotta have beta testers right? Sam, you have connections. Please!? Please can you get my on their list?" Tucker begged. Sam and Danny laughed.

"We'll see," Sam replied with a grin. Tucker cheered before running to the front door of the restaurant.

"He's not getting on that list is he?" Danny remarked knowingly. Sam shrugged.

"I have connections. But not those kind. So probably not," Sam confirmed. Danny smirked before grabbing the door and letting Sam, Yazmin and Eric go inside before him.

Tucker was already in the queue. Yazmin and Eric joined him tiredly.

"Maybe you shouldn't have worked them so hard," Sam muttered, taking pity on the two halfas.

"We didn't do much Sam. And… to be honest, I'm not used to teaching that kind of stuff. I don't know their limits," Danny replied with a shrug. Sam nodded.

"Did Tucker find anything? We couldn't talk today because of them being near," Sam whispered. Danny shook his head.

"I'll video chat you later," Danny offered as they joined the queue beside Tucker and the exhausted halfas. Sam nodded in understanding. Danny looked up and scanned the cashiers before frowning.

"What's up?" Sam asked.

"Valerie's not there. She told me she was working tonight," Danny told her.

"When were you talking to Valerie?" Sam inquired.

"Last night. Er… Phantom," Danny elaborated. Sam blinked before nodding in understanding.

They reached the cashier and placed their orders.

"Sorry. I'm a friend of Valerie's, I heard that she was working today," Danny told the girl behind the counter as she handed him a tray of food. She frowned.

"No. Sorry. Valerie isn't back at work until Tuesday evening. You heard wrong," the girl corrected. Danny nodded and gave the girl a quick grateful smile before following Tucker as he carried the other tray to the table Sam, Yazmin and Eric claimed. Danny and Tucker placed their trays on the table and slid into their seats, Sam sorting out the drinks and food for everyone.

"I wonder why Valerie lied to me about working tonight," Danny muttered, with a thoughtful frown.

"Well she didn't tell you, she told Phantom. She doesn't need to tell him anything," Tucker offered. Danny shook his head.

"She told me so that I knew she wouldn't be around to patrol tonight. She wants us to start fresh," Danny explained. Sam raised an eyebrow as she drizzled a sachet of salad dressing over her salad.

"Did she say she was working here?" Sam inquired softly. Danny blinked in confusion. Sam rolled her eyes.

"She considers her ghost hunting a second job, remember. So… maybe she meant that she wouldn't be patrolling because she was doing something related to her ghost hunting," Sam elaborated.

"That makes sense dude. You just assumed she meant this job," Tucker agreed. Danny thought back to the conversation the previous evening before remembering that Valerie never said she was working in the Nasty Burger that evening. They ate their food hungrily before Sam took the younger halfas back home for an early night and Danny and Tucker went for patrol.

"Tuck… how are we gonna watch Yazmin and Eric tomorrow? I can't skip school the whole day," Danny wondered. Tucker blinked before pulling out his PDA.

"I could use my skills to make them exchange students for real. It shouldn't be too hard. The school's security is ridiculously easy to crack," Tucker suggested. Danny chewed his lip lightly before nodding.

"Go for it. They'll be in different years to us but at least we can keep an eye on them for some of the day," Danny muttered.

"You could always duplicate and tail them," Tucker commented.

"All day? Tuck you know I'm not good at duplicating for a long period of time," Danny retorted.

"Just an idea," Tucker retorted as he began hacking into the school database and inputting Yazmin and Eric's details.

"I'll put them down for the basics. They can fill out the rest tomorrow morning," Tucker mumbled to himself. Danny didn't object.

That evening Tucker and Danny informed Sam of everything they had learned about the mysterious halfas, or rather lack thereof, and their plan to enrol the younger teens as exchange students in the school in order to keep an eye on them. Sam informed the two teens in question of the plan, saying they needed to go to school to stop Sam's parents getting suspicious. The next day, as usual, Danny walked to Sam's and rang the doorbell to collect his girlfriend. Usually they'd fly to Tucker's or straight to school but with Yazmin and Eric tagging along, they'd walk to school instead. Pamela answered the door and scowled at Danny. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'll wait out here for Sam, Eric and Yazmin," he offered quickly. Pamela nodded curtly in agreement, shutting the door with an audible click. Danny huffed a frustrated sigh. He hated that Sam's parents disliked him. He knew it put pressure on Sam's relationship with them and caused numerous arguments. But there was nothing he could do short of becoming someone else.

A few minutes later, Sam opened the door and rolled her eyes.

"Why are you standing on the doorstep? Come inside Danny. Eric and Yazmin will be down in a minute," Sam sighed exasperatedly.

"I'd rather stay out here Sam," Danny mumbled nervously. Sam blinked at her boyfriend.

"Oh come on. You are not scared of my mom," Sam exclaimed with a chuckle.

"Actually yes. I am. I don't want to upset her more than I already have because of the other day," Danny muttered self-consciously. Sam scowled before shrugging and stepped out of the house and sitting on the step, motioning for him to join her. Danny smirked and complied. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"You're an idiot. You fight ghosts," Sam commented softly. Danny wrapped an arm around her and sighed.

"I know but your mom is scary when she's angry. And I don't want to give her any more reasons to reinstate that restraining order," Danny retorted quietly. Sam nodded in understanding.

Eric and Yazmin ran down the stairs and skidded into the kitchen to grab some toast. Yazmin ran out and paused as she saw Danny and Sam sitting on the doorstep, looking out to the quiet street. She bit her lip nervously. She didn't want to ruin their moment. She could tell that they hadn't had much alone time recently, particularly since Danny got caught in Sam's room the other morning. She winced as she realised that was why the older halfa hadn't stepped inside the house to wait. She couldn't help but wonder if Danny would have been caught that morning if Pamela and Sam weren't planning to take Eric and Yazmin to the mall that day. Eric charged past her.

"Hurry up or we'll be late," he hissed and stuffed some toast in his mouth, running down the steps, easily dodging the couple waiting. Danny and Sam blinked before getting to their feet. Yazmin huffed in annoyance. The least they could do was let the couple have a few moments of peace after all they had done for them.

She ran out the door after her supposed brother, flashing Danny and Sam an apologetic smile. Sam slammed the front door behind the female halfa and Danny joined Eric on the sidewalk. Eric offered some toast for Danny who grimaced and declined.

"Danny hates toast," Sam informed them as she joined the three halfas. Yazmin blinked in surprise. That hadn't been in the book her mother gave her. But then again food preferences wouldn't be deemed important for future halfas to know. Danny and Sam led the way towards Casper High, holding hands. Yazmin and Eric followed along behind, eating their slices of toast quietly.

"Oh, fair warning. This is more for Eric than Yazmin, but there's a blonde jock, Dash Baxter. Steer clear of him. Biggest bully in Casper High," Danny warned, glancing over his shoulder. Eric and Yazmin shared a quick glance at each other that Danny didn't see. They had heard of the bully. They were curious about the boy that tormented their heroic ancestor.

They reached the front of the school without any problems and Sam and Danny guided the younger halfas to the head office and waited for them while they finished registering themselves for their chosen classes. Once they had finished and got their timetables Sam and Danny gave them a tour of the building. When the bell for the start of school rang, they parted ways and went to class.

Between them, Sam, Danny and Tucker made sure to check in with the younger halfas as the classes changed. Both to ensure they didn't ditch school and to ensure that they were coping alright. Yazmin and Eric on the other hand were glad to have the three older teens checking up on them. Eric hadn't been in a school for a few months and was finding the strict schedule and unfamiliar surroundings difficult to adjust to. Yazmin was nervous of her ghostly nature being revealed as in her time there were routine checks on the school populace for ghost possession. It also didn't help that they were trying to fit in at the end of the school year. It made a few people suspicious of their exchange from New York.

 **So, Yazmin and Eric are attending Casper High for the week in order for the trio to keep an eye on them and to keep them out of trouble.**

 **Any thoughts on what Valerie was doing?**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	17. Chapter 17

By the time it was lunchtime, both time displaced halfas were stressed and worn out by the classes. Danny, Sam and Tucker invited the two teens to sit with them, giving a couple of pointers on what not to choose from the cafeteria, Sam paying for them.

"So, how was your morning?" Danny asked conversationally.

"It was fine. We haven't been in school for a while and I'm finding the change hard," Eric mumbled.

"And I've never really been that good at making friends," Yazmin added softly.

"Well, you're not staying for good right, so that's not a problem. Besides, school ends at the end of the week," Tucker remarked. Yazmin and Eric glanced at each other before nodding. They didn't know how long they'd be around. They weren't in their time. How long did they have to stick around to prevent that awful future where Valerie killed Danny? What would they do if they ever did leave?

"Was Falluca angry at you for skipping Friday?" Sam asked. Danny shrugged as he opened his milk.

"When isn't he? I mean math is one of my worst subjects. Although he did mention something about thinking since it was our last week, he expected me to make more of an effort," Danny answered.

"And you said?" Tucker prompted.

"Eh, I said I would. Should have said that since it was my last week I should make sure I'm remembered by being worse than ever," Danny joked. Sam and Tucker chuckled.

"Uh oh. Dash alert. And he looks upset," Tucker hissed, spotting the jock stalking over to their table behind Danny.

"Great," Danny groaned.

"Fentoad! I got an F!" Dash shouted.

"Why does he always go after me?" Danny moaned as he turned around.

"That's too bad Dash," Danny offered with forced sincerity.

"I have to do extra credit over the summer to graduate!" Dash growled, grabbing the front of Danny's shirt. Danny bit back a smart retort.

"Dash, Mr Lancer's over there," Sam informed the bully, pointing across the room to where Lancer was reading a book at a table with his packed lunch in front of him. After the third ghost related food fight, teachers had set up a rota system so that there was always at least one teacher present in the cafeteria. Dash glanced over to the overweight teacher before growling deep in his throat, annoyance clear.

"Come on Fentoenail, I'm feeling like a swirly today," Dash grumbled. Danny yelped in surprise as Dash yanked him by the shirt towards the bathroom. Sam and Tucker watched their friend leave against his will sympathetically.

"Shouldn't we do something? Like tell that teacher," Yazmin interjected worriedly.

"And why doesn't Danny just beat that guy up?" Eric added angrily glaring at the older teen's back as he shoved Danny through the door into the bathroom.

"If we do anything, we'll just make things worse. If we tell Lancer, then Dash will just beat Danny up later, worse than he will now because he'll be angry. And Danny can't beat up Dash without revealing his secret. Dash has bullied Danny for years. Since he got on to the football team in middle school. If Danny suddenly stood up for himself even a moron like Dash would get suspicious," Sam explained.

"But-" Yazmin began.

"Trust us. Danny's fine. He'll get wet and Dash will get a laugh. If we weren't sure of that, then we'd step in," Tucker interrupted firmly.

Five minutes later, Dash left the bathroom with a cruel grin on his face and returned to his seat in the cafeteria, high fiving his friend, Kwan. Danny stalked out of the bathroom seconds later, toilet water dripping from his drenched hair and his shirt soaked. He grumbled darkly under his breath as he trudged back to his seat.

"You okay?" Sam asked with concern.

"Let's just say it's a good thing I can hold my breath for a long time. The jerk nearly drowned me," Danny muttered.

"You should report him," Yazmin insisted angrily. Danny glanced at Yazmin.

"No point Yazmin. Dash gets special treatment because he's the star quarterback. I'm fine," Danny retorted calmly.

"Why don't you just, you know, turn intangible and dry off?" Eric whispered.

"Dash knows I got wet. If I suddenly turn up bone dry, it'll raise questions," Danny told him.

"Ooh, Dash got you again huh Danny," Valerie called a few seconds later. Danny glanced at her and sighed.

"What gave me away?" Danny replied.

"The puddle on the floor was the first clue. Dash laughing over there was the next. Swirly?" Valerie answered with a shrug. Danny nodded in confirmation.

"Do you have a spare shirt?" Valerie asked.

"Yeah. It's in my locker. I'll get it before class," Danny lied.

"Mind if I join you guys?" Valerie requested, gesturing to the seat beside Yazmin. There was a muttered permission and Valerie sat down at the table. Yazmin bit her lip worriedly. She was not comfortable sitting beside the person responsible for all the hardship her family and ancestors had endured. Eric stiffened and watched the huntress closely.

"So, how was your weekend?" Tucker asked. Valerie nodded as she swallowed a bite of her sandwich.

"It was okay. I spent most with it with Star and her cousin. He's really nice actually," Valerie answered.

"What's his name?" Sam pressed curiously. Valerie smirked.

"Phil. His mom got attacked by some ghost bear on Friday night. Apparently Phantom stepped in," Valerie informed them.

"Was she okay?" Danny inquired, despite knowing that the woman he saved had gotten away fine.

"Yeah. Just shaken. Phil wants to see a ghost now though," Valerie remarked. Danny fought to keep his expression neutral. He couldn't read if Valerie knew his secret or not. Was she playing along because she thought he was acting for Eric, Yazmin or Sam and Tucker's sakes? Or did she not know and he was being paranoid?

"So you're gonna go ghost hunting?" Tucker commented with enough humour to hide that he knew Valerie hunted ghosts already. A flash of alarm crossed Valerie's face before she laughed nervously.

"Course not. But Phil has tried to convince me and Star to try and find Phantom or some other ghost. So, any suggestions Danny?" Valerie replied. Danny choked on his sandwich. Sam thumped her boyfriend on the back.

"Wha-what? Why would I know anything about ghosts?" Danny stammered shakily, coughing on the bread stuck in his throat.

"Duh, your parents. I thought that they might have mentioned some of the hot spots," Valerie clarified, Danny's nervousness dismissed as he recovered from nearly choking on his lunch.

"Oh. Uh, no. Well they might have but I tend to not listen to that stuff. Listening encourages my dad to blather on about ghosts more," Danny answered. Valerie nodded in understanding.

The rest of the break was spent talking calmly about menial subjects but Danny was sure that his secret was safe by the time he excused himself to get the non-existent shirt from his locker. During the next class, Danny's ghost sense triggered and he asked to be excused to deal with the Box Ghost. At the end of the day, Danny, Sam, Tucker, Yazmin and Eric met up outside the school and started walking to the warehouse they had been using as a training ground.

"Did you guys get much homework?" Danny asked conversationally. Eric nodded and Yazmin shrugged.

"I don't get why we have to do it anyway. We're only here for the last week," Eric grumbled. The older teens smirked.

"Probably some nonsense about not giving special treatment," Sam offered. The younger teens sighed and nodded in agreement. Danny grabbed Sam and Tucker's hands and phased them through the chain link fence, Yazmin and Eric following his example.

Sam and Tucker settled on some crates and pulled out their homework while the three halfas shifted forms and Danny started instructing the younger two in body manipulation. It was a handy trick to have and pretty easy to train as it didn't use up energy.

"Alright body manipulation is easy. Like with flying, intangibility and turning invisible it's about how you perceive yourself. If you believe that you can stretch your arm to double its normal length, then you can do. Because we're halfas though, we can't change our forms beyond how we look. Meaning we can't change from looking like a human to looking like a tiger, dog, cat, elephant whatever. We can stretch and twist ourselves but not change how we're made up. Understand?" Danny explained. Both teens nodded and began to contort their bodies into normally impossible shapes. It was actually a lesson Eric's father hadn't taught him and so both halfas were learning this time.

Suddenly Eric and Danny's ghost senses went off and a ghost phased into the warehouse.

"There you are!" the ghost snarled angrily, swooping down and throwing Danny into the far wall before anyone could react. The ghost chased after Danny and held the teen to the wall by his throat.

"Your childish pranks are getting annoying Daniel," Vlad Plasmius growled.

"What are you talking about?" Danny gasped as he clutched at Vlad's black gloved hand, desperately trying to get the older halfa to release him.

"I'm talking about you sending ghost detectors to my business partners which went off during my meeting this afternoon," Vlad hissed angrily.

"Ghost detectors? I-I don't know what you're talking about," Danny choked out with his limited breath.

"Vlad! Let him go!" Sam ordered, Vlad spared the girl a glance, taking note of the weapon pointing at his head.

Vlad dropped Danny and took a decisive step back from Danny as he tried to recover his breath.

"Now, start over and explain why you're upset," Sam growled, not lowering her weapon. Vlad scowled at being addressed like a child.

"Look, I'll admit Daniel's pranks and feeble attempts to reveal my ghostly nature were amusing to start with but I'm getting annoyed. The stunt today nearly cost me thousands of dollars and an important business deal. Not to mention those ghost weapons you tried to get installed in city hall. This has to stop Daniel. Before I completely lose my patience," Vlad explained.

"Vlad, I haven't played a prank on you since you won the election. Honest. Whatever's going on with you, it's not me," Danny retorted, confusion clear on his face. Vlad blinked.

"You didn't send those ghost detectors to my business partners?" Vlad inquired in disbelief.

"No. I didn't even know you _had_ business partners. And why would I want to install ghost weapons anywhere in this town? They might catch me," Danny confirmed.

"But if it wasn't you…" Vlad muttered in confusion.

Yazmin and Eric, completely overlooked and forgotten by everyone so far, glanced at each other, understanding dawning on them. Valerie. Valerie had attempted to reveal Vlad's secret before she resorted to calling the Guys in White. She must have sent those ghost detectors and got those weapons installed. Vlad turned to Danny.

"If something like this happens again, I will make your life hell Daniel. Do I make myself clear?" Vlad threatened.

"What?! I'm not the one doing it!" Danny shouted incredulously.

"Then you need to find who is responsible and stop them don't you," Vlad sneered. Danny scowled angrily at the older halfa.

"Vlad, that's totally not fair! Why can't you track them down?" Danny argued.

"Because I don't need to. I have you," Vlad retorted smugly. Danny gaped in furious disbelief.

Vlad turned to leave before he finally noticed Yazmin and Eric.

"Who are they?" Vlad demanded. Sam and Tucker glanced at each other.

"You don't… I mean who do you think they are?" Sam replied warily.

"If I knew, I wouldn't have asked Samantha. You children aren't usually this dense," Vlad grumbled. Sam glared angrily at Vlad.

"They're friends. Visiting for a little while," Tucker managed.

"Daniel, I understand that you don't have a particularly pleasing public image. But I wasn't aware that you had coerced ghosts into being your personal fan club. The matching outfits are adorable," Vlad mocked before smirking at Danny. Danny scowled angrily.

"Now chop chop. Find the person who's been irritating me for the last few months or I might have to make some laws forbidding teenagers from "hanging out" in warehouses," Vlad ordered before phasing out of the building.

Danny's green eyes flashed brightly as he fired a ghost ray at a wall.

"Ugh! Why does he always blame me!? I am not going to help him," Danny yelled angrily.

"Dude, as much as I'm against helping Vlad, maybe you should. I mean, he is the mayor and if he gets revealed as a halfa, then it'll only be a matter of time before you get figured out too," Tucker suggested nervously. Danny glanced at his friend, eyes blazing brightly.

"He has a point Danny," Sam added carefully. Danny sighed and slumped against the wall in defeat, his eyes dulling back to their normal glowing green.

"I know. I hate it though when he uses that card against me," Danny mumbled.

 **Will Danny figure out Valerie's involvement before she goes after Vlad again?**

 **Another Valerie sighting during a normal day at Casper High.**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	18. Chapter 18

Danny ended their training session after Vlad left, too angry and worried to be able to focus on explaining how to use his powers to the two halfas. They walked to Sam's house and the five teenagers went up to Sam's room, Danny making sure to make his presence known to Pamela. Yazmin and Eric watched as the trio settled in Sam's room in their usual spots, Sam on her bed, Tucker on the computer chair and Danny against the wall under the window. Yazmin and Eric sat on the floor beside the wardrobe.

"Okay, so we need to figure out who would target Vlad," Sam remarked. Danny frowned in thought.

"I can only think of a handful of people. Me. But it's not me. You guys, and it's not you. Jazz, but she wouldn't go so far as to jeopardise Vlad's secret in case she revealed me. Danielle but… I can't see her being so underhand and sneaky to be honest. I can see my parents or Valerie going after Plasmius but these are attacks against Vlad Masters using ghost weapons. They'd have to know his secret," Danny mused.

"Can we be sure that there aren't others who know about Vlad's secret?" Tucker interjected. Danny sighed and shrugged.

"Vlad's smart… and I dunno about you but I wouldn't put it past him to um… _silence_ someone if he had to," Danny replied, running a finger across his throat on the word silence. Tucker and Sam scowled in displeasure but didn't object.

"Maybe it's a ghost," Sam suggested thoughtfully.

"Can't see it. Ghost weapons are dangerous for ghosts to handle. Might fire it off by accident or might lose it and it might get picked up and used against them. And dealing in ghost detectors is risky too. If they demonstrate, they might pick up themselves and scare off their potential buyer or whatever. Besides, Vlad's got some really powerful and feared ghosts under him, Fright Knight and Skulker to name two. Not to mention his gruesome creation things," Danny replied with a shrug.

"So it's a human," Tucker concluded.

"I'd say so. Less risk and more benefit," Danny agreed with a solemn nod. Sam chewed her lip lightly before glancing at Tucker.

"I can't help but think that Valerie might be involved somehow. She does work for the guy. She'd know or at least have access to who is close to Vlad," Sam pointed out nervously. Danny raised an eyebrow. Before frowning in thought and the more he thought about it the more he realised that there were signs.

"She did say she was busy last night," he mumbled to himself.

"It might not have been malicious too. It could have been an effort to protect the mayor from ghost attacks," Tucker added helpfully. Danny nodded thoughtfully.

"I'll ask her," he decided.

"Are you nuts?!" Sam exclaimed. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Look, I know Valerie and I haven't been the best of friends in the past but she wants to give Phantom a second chance. All I'm gonna say is that I heard that ghost weapons were getting set up in city hall. See if she knew about them," Danny reassured his girlfriend. Sam bit her lip uncertainly but she couldn't argue with his logic.

"Dude, what if she's lulling you into a false sense of security," Tucker interjected worriedly.

"I don't get that feeling from her. Besides, I can always run for it," Danny retorted calmly with a shrug.

"When are you gonna ask her?" Sam relented with a loud sigh.

"I could go now. I'd rather stop this before it goes further. The sooner I can deal with this, the better. If I wait, whoever is doing this to Vlad might try again and I'll be in big trouble," Danny answered.

"I'll go with. You can drop me back home," Tucker suggested.

"And you better text me the minute you leave Valerie. I mean it Danny. Because if you get hurt or killed, we're history," Sam threatened. Danny smirked and nodded.

"Promise. Hopefully she's at her apartment and it won't take long. Night guys. And sorry we didn't get much done tonight Eric and Yazmin," Danny concluded. The younger halfas shook their heads and muttered something about not minding.

Danny and Tucker left the house, calling a quick farewell to Pamela and Jeremy in the kitchen. Danny and Tucker then stepped into the nearest alleyway and Danny flew Tucker home.

"Do you want me to patrol with you tonight?" Tucker offered.

"Nah, I'll be fine on my own. I don't want to be out too late as I want to check in with the Far Frozen for any progress and get at least some of my homework done," Danny declined before leaving for Elmerton across the river. He found Valerie's apartment easily having been there a couple of times when they had a project together in health sciences. He invisibly phased his head through Valerie's window before sighing sadly. She wasn't home. It was a wasted journey to her apartment.

He flew back to Amity Park, sending a quick text to Sam telling her Valerie wasn't home. He patrolled the streets, having to fight off four ghosts, all low powered and most driven by instinct. It was a relief that there were some ghosts around. As long as there was a steady trickle of ghosts for him to fight, he was happy. It wasn't a worry that the ghosts were ganging up and plotting against him. Sam said he was paranoid but he didn't think so. Paranoid would be if he interrupted his normal routine to track down non-existent ghosts. That hadn't happened yet.

There was no sign of Valerie but they rarely bumped into each other during his evening patrols. He believed that they had different routes that focused on what was important to them personally. Such as Valerie might focus on the Nasty Burger and Axion Labs due to her job and father. Whereas Danny focused his attention around Sam, Tucker and his homes and a few hot spots in between. Afterwards he flew to the Far Frozen and checked on their progress.

"We believe that we have a solution to your friends' problem. However we cannot decipher how they received their powers. Although we have noticed that your ghost and human DNA separate more willingly than the others' do. It is possible that they were born with their powers rather than received them due to an accident like yourself Great One," the ghost answered. Danny blinked.

"You mean, they've always been halfas," Danny realised. The ghost nodded.

"We believe so," the ghost confirmed.

"Also, it is puzzling, but their ghost energy holds similarities to yours. If we didn't know better, we'd say that they were related to you. The DNA is impossible to use to confirm that possibility. If they are related to you, they are distant relatives," the ghost added. Danny frowned in thought.

"Thank you. I'll bring them back tomorrow afternoon," Danny muttered distractedly lost in thought. How could these strangers be related to him? Vlad hadn't known a thing about them. They couldn't be clones. But they had his ghost energy. This didn't make sense at all. He returned home and sat down just after midnight to start his homework.

Danny opened his math homework, having gotten extra due to skipping the previous Friday. He grabbed his calculator and scowled in concentration as he started on the first equation. But his mind kept wandering to the mysterious halfas staying with Sam. Their human halves could possibly be related but their ghost halves were without a doubt. His mind wandered to how he got his powers. He wondered if Vlad had similar ghost energy as his parents had used the prototype from college to base their research for the one in the basement. Could it be that all halfas had similar ghost energy and so were related that way? Could Vlad's deluded belief of being Danny's father have some kind of foundation in ghost energy genetics? Danny shook the thought out of his head. That couldn't be right.

He focused back on his homework and he managed to finish his math homework before the swirling thoughts in his mind took over again. Maybe he could persuade Vlad to give him a ghost energy sample to test his theory. He scoffed to himself. No way Vlad would ever give him anything for free and something like that would have an impossibly high price. Like joining the fruit loop or denouncing his father. Never gonna happen. He scowled at his book report. He didn't even read the book assigned two months ago. He sighed. He'd just have to get the detailed summary from the internet instead. He turned on his computer and opened his science textbook and finished the questions from class. He had been forced to leave to fight the Box Ghost and so couldn't finish them. By the time he had finished, his computer had turned on. He opened a tab on the book in question before he bit his lip.

He opened another tab and searched ghost genetics. He may not do well in school but he was the son of two geniuses. He wasn't stupid. Math just wasn't his subject. He also never studied. He could understand most of his lessons if he could stay awake through it all. A paper on ghosts came up and he clicked it. He rolled his eyes as he saw that his mother had written it. He skimmed through the findings and sighed. His mother believed that due to a ghost's body being a construct based on post-human consciousness, there was nothing present in a ghost to be recognised as DNA or a basis for genetics. Making paranormal forensics or DNA profiling a pointless pursuit.

"Trust mom to decide that the one thing I'd want to learn more about doesn't exist," Danny grumbled to himself.

He sighed and started his book report. By the time he was finished it was close to four in the morning. He yawned tiredly and collapsed on his bed, hoping to get a couple of hours of sleep at least before school. But it wasn't to be. His ghost sense triggered just as he dropped off and with a groan he got up and changed into his ghost form. He phased outside and groaned again as he saw Johnny 13 and Kitty tearing down the street on Johnny's motorbike. Danny yawned once more before plastering on his game face and started chasing down the couple who were speeding well above the legal speed limit.

"Shadow!" Johnny shouted and waved in Danny's general direction. Danny scowled and duplicated himself. He sent his duplicate after the shadow, luring it away towards the school's football field where he defeated it easily using the floodlights to his advantage. Danny chased after Johnny 13 and Kitty.

"Kitty, hold on!" Johnny yelled over the roaring wind. The three ghosts zoomed through the town at top speeds. Danny scowled as he saw the sunrise. He pushed himself on faster as Johnny ran a red light. Danny didn't look as he rushed after them. He heard a loud honk before the screech of brakes and everything hurt.

 **Gasp! What happened?! Any guesses?**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	19. Chapter 19

Sam got out of bed and grabbed her homework, shoved it into her backpack before rooting through her wardrobe for some clothes. Twenty minutes later and she was exiting the bathroom, knocking on Eric and Yazmin's door.

"Hurry up! Danny'll be here in like ten minutes!" she shouted to them. She fetched her backpack and checked her phone for any messages from Danny. He tended to text her if he got held up with ghosts. She smiled when she saw there wasn't a text. He should be on time then. She walked downstairs and dropped her bag on the kitchen counter before she stepped outside to grab some fruit from her greenhouse for her lunch. She returned as Yazmin and Eric skidded into the room, making some toast to eat on the way.

Sam glanced at the time and frowned. Danny hadn't rang the doorbell yet. But that didn't mean anything. He might have just got held up at home by his parents. She switched on the TV and the news came on. She shrugged and left the channel on as she prepared the fruit for later consumption.

"And now we go to Lance Thunder on scene of the crash on Main Street. Lance?" Tiffany Snow reported.

"Good morning Amity Park. I'm here on Main Street where about forty minutes ago a truck driving to a local supermarket to deliver produce crashed. The truck spun out of control when the driver was forced to brake unexpectedly due to a ghost chase involving our very own Danny Phantom and two, as yet, unidentified ghosts on a motorcycle," Lance informed the viewers. Sam froze and turned to the screen. Behind Lance there were emergency service lights flashing and an overturned truck, crates of fruit and vegetables littering the street as the back doors had been knocked open during the crash.

Yazmin and Eric paused their frantic preparing of toast to watch as well.

"There were thankfully no fatalities due to the early hour. The driver has also come away with minor injuries. Although the same cannot be said for Danny Phantom who the truck collided head first with. Paramedics are here and are trying to help our ghostly hero but unfortunately they are uneducated on paranormal medicine. I've just been informed that ghost experts, Madeline and Jack Fenton have been called in to help," Lance resumed. Sam gasped worriedly. She grabbed her phone and rang Tucker.

"Tuck! Have you seen the news!?" Sam exclaimed fearfully once the phone was answered.

"Sam? Wha? What time is it?" Tucker mumbled.

"Look up the news! Now Tucker!" Sam ordered urgently. Tucker yawned and she heard rustling. A few minutes later she heard her friend gasp in horror.

"We'll meet you there," Sam concluded and hung up. She shoved her lunch into her backpack and flung it on to on her shoulder.

"Come on," she growled at the younger teens as she ran out of the house, forgetting the TV as the sports headlines began.

Danny was getting annoyed at the young woman that kept refusing to let him sleep. He was in pain and he was tired. He only managed half an hour of sleep before his ghost sense triggered, if that. There were blaring noises and shouting all around him.

"Phantom! Stay with us! Come on," the woman yelled snapping her fingers in front of his itchy eyes.

"The bleeding isn't stopping," a hysterical man announced.

"Keep applying pressure!" an older man snapped.

"Yes sir," the man muttered and Danny groaned as the pain in his leg intensified.

"Can't we give him some pain relief?" the woman implored someone.

"No idea how it'll affect his metabolism. Ghosts are different from us Jenny. It's better we not take risks like that without experts. Don't worry the Fentons are on their way," the older man explained. Danny didn't understand what they were talking about. His mind was sluggish and his thoughts murky. He just wanted to sleep!

"No! Phantom stay with me!" the woman, Jenny insisted.

"Sir! I need more bandages to stop this bleeding. The ectoplasm isn't clotting like normal blood," the hysterical man reported.

"Get a hold of yourself Ivan. I'll get some more. Jenny, take over with his arm. He mustn't move it until we can deal with it," the older man growled in annoyance. There were two quick "yes sir"s. Danny yelped as his arm suddenly stabbed with agony.

"Sorry Phantom. Don't worry, we're gonna help you," Jenny apologised.

"You sure he can understand us. His head looks bad," the man asked, Ivan.

"He seems to respond. So I'm guessing he's coherent enough to hear us," Jenny replied uncertainly. Running footsteps returned to his side and the pressure on his leg lifted for a second before it renewed. He whimpered in agony.

Sam, Eric and Yazmin sprinted down the street to where a crowd was forming. Police officers had taped off the area and were keeping the crowd at a safe distance. Sam frowned worriedly.

"Sam! Over here!" Tucker hissed at her over the steady murmuring of the crowd and the wail of sirens. She and the two halfas jogged over to the techno-geek who had had less to run to get to the crash site.

"If we're quiet, we can eavesdrop on the driver. A cop's questioning him over there," Tucker informed them and pointed towards a police car. They edged as casually as possible towards the car and remained absolutely silent.

"So, you had driven more hours than you were legally meant to," the cop growled.

"Look, I got stuck in traffic and I had to make my delivery on time. I had to! But I drove through town and the kid ran a red light chasing those ghosts on the motorbike. I didn't have enough time to brake. I couldn't stop myself hitting him," the driver explained. Tucker and Sam glanced at each other. There was only one ghost they could think of that drove a motorbike.

"Then what happened?" the cop pressed.

"What happened?! I hit him! I lost control and when I finally got out of the truck the kid was down. I tried to help him but I'm no doctor, let alone a ghost doctor. Green stuff was everywhere. I called the ambulance, stayed with the kid. Kept him awake cause it was the only thing I could think of to do," the driver retorted. Sam paled. Danny was bleeding! At least his secret was intact though. A small mercy in the crisis.

She turned to the two halfas.

"You have to check on Danny. Please?" she begged them. Yazmin and Eric blinked in surprise.

"I've never tried to go invisible more than a few seconds," Yazmin admitted apologetically.

"I'll go. But I'm sure he'll be fine Sam," Eric interjected confidently. Danny had to be fine because he was their ancestor. Sam smiled gratefully. Tucker glanced around them.

"You're clear. Everyone's focused on the crash. Go. And be careful of Danny's parents," Tucker whispered urgently. Eric nodded and turned himself invisible. He'd managed to stay invisible for almost an hour once when he snuck onto a train to get to Yazmin faster. He ducked under the yellow tape and carefully made his way through the police, ambulances and the crashed, overturned truck.

"Phantom! Stay awake!" a woman called forcefully. Eric turned towards the voice and gasped. Laying on his side was Danny. He was lying in a puddle of ghost blood. His head and leg were bleeding steadily and his left arm was bent in a sickening direction, held still by the older man of the two. The other man was bent over Danny's leg, pressing a bundle of green stained bandages to Danny's leg as he tried to staunch the bleeding desperately. A long shard of glass was on the ground beside him, covered in ectoplasm. The woman was at Danny's head, holding it steady and making sure that Danny didn't pass out. There was a thick, stiff neck brace around Danny's neck, making sure he couldn't hurt himself further. The paramedics had obviously not moved Danny for fear of making things worse, unsure how to treat a ghost as opposed to a human.

Eric bit his lip worriedly. Danny was in a bad way. And these humans were out of their depth. He glanced back towards Sam, Tucker and Yazmin. Danny needed medical help. Help from a source that actually knew what they were doing. A source like Frostbite. He hurried back over to the worried trio.

"Danny's in a bad way. I think we should try and get Frostbite to him," Eric informed them softly. Sam scowled with determination.

"I'll go. I'm the fastest runner and I know how to use the Speeder. Try to stall them," Sam decided and sprinted off towards Fenton Works, confident that the house would be unlocked and empty as Danny's parents were on their way to the crash.

"How?!" Yazmin demanded fearfully. Tucker bit his lip before gasping as a plan hit him.

"Eric, you look enough like Danny to pass for a relation. Say you're a cousin. Might help Danny if he sees a face he knows," Tucker offered. Eric nodded despite still being invisible and darted into the back of an ambulance, making sure he was hidden before changing forms. He took a deep breath before floating up into the sky and turning himself visible.

He dropped as fast as he could without screaming and landed on the ground at a run.

"Danny!" He shouted convincingly. He ran to Danny's side.

"Who are you?" the older man demanded protectively, not moving away from Danny's arm, keeping it completely still.

"I'm his cousin. I was visiting and heard the news. I got here as fast as possible. Is he gonna be okay?" Eric explained, almost honestly.

"Son, we're doing our best alright. You should help Jenny keep your cousin awake okay. I'm Henry and that's Ivan," the older man, Henry informed the younger halfa. Eric nodded.

"Eric, Eric Phantom," Eric offered slightly reluctantly.

"Eric, come here, sit beside me. We have to keep him as still as possible, alright? If he moves he might hurt himself more understand?" Jenny told the teen. Eric nodded and shuffled around to kneel beside Jenny.

"Danny, I'm here alright. Can you hear me?" Eric called.

"He's pretty out of it right now son. But we think he can hear us. Just keep talking okay," Henry interjected.

"What's wrong with him?" Eric asked.

"We can't be sure until we get him an x-ray, if that works. We're a bit out of our depth son. We treat humans by trade not ghosts," Henry admitted.

Danny blinked. He recognised that voice. But where? He tried to move his head as the voice had come from directly behind him.

"Easy Phantom. Stay still okay," Jenny soothed him. Danny moaned in pain as he regretted trying to move almost instantly.

"Danny, don't worry, you're gonna be okay," the voice assured him. Danny gasped as he finally placed the voice.

"E-Er-ic," he slurred.

"He's responding!" Jenny exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah, to his cousin. Keep talking kid. Explain what's going on for him," Ivan encouraged.

"Danny, just stay still okay. Do you remember what happened?" Eric asked. Danny blinked as he tried to put together enough of his jumbled thoughts to recall what occurred.

"J-John-ny. I… I was ch-asing h-him," Danny managed.

"That's great Danny. Do you know what happened after that?" Eric pressed with an excited tone. Danny tried to move his hand to rub his scratchy tired eyes.

"No! Phantom you have to stay still," Jenny scolded.

"N-no," Danny confessed shakily.

"That's okay. You got hurt," Eric assured him quickly.

"N-no w-way J-John-ny got m-me th-is b-bad," Danny groaned quietly.

"No. You weren't hurt by a ghost Danny. You were in an accident. A car accident," Eric clarified.

"I d-don't drive," Danny slurred.

"Phantom, you got hit by a truck," Jenny corrected. Danny frowned and shut his eyes. He needed some quiet. He needed some sleep. His mind wasn't fast enough for him to understand what was happening. A truck hit him. Why? He was chasing Johnny and Kitty on his bike.

"Phantom, keep your eyes open. You have to stay awake," Jenny insisted. Danny obediently opened his eyes. The flashing bright lights and sunlight hurt his exhausted eyes and the noises everywhere weren't helping his throbbing head.

 **I'll admit, I've never been in a car crash. In fact until recently I hadn't even broken a bone, and even that was a fractured wrist from a bad fall. So, I don't know how paramedics behave. But Ivan is pretty new to the job, that's why he's not as professional as Henry and Jenny.**

 **Let me know what you think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	20. Chapter 20

"Where's Phantom!?" a loud voice boomed excitedly.

"Over here Mr and Mrs Fenton," a police officer informed them and guided the jumpsuit clad parents over to the group around Danny. Tucker gasped worriedly. They were running out of time. There was no way they could stall the Fentons or the paramedics now that the experts were present. He glanced at Yazmin.

"How do you feel about flying after an ambulance with a passenger?" he asked softly. Yazmin bit her lip.

"I'm not sure. I'm not a great flier," she replied worriedly.

"It's that or trying to kidnap Danny before they move him into an ambulance," Tucker retorted.

"I can try," she offered, not confident with that alternative.

Eric and Jenny made sure that Danny didn't fall asleep. These paramedics and the driver had no idea that they'd protected Danny's secret by keeping him conscious. The teen wasn't weakened, just confused and in agony. Eric could tell that much. He glanced at the paramedics.

"Would some ice help?" he wondered out loud. The three paramedics blinked at the odd question.

"Might help numb the pain and bring down inflammation," Jenny admitted.

"Danny, can you make some ice? It'll help us help you," Eric muttered hopefully.

"I-ice?" Danny repeated softly.

"That's right. Can you make some?" Eric agreed patiently. Danny tried to move his uninjured hand out from under himself but Jenny quickly stopped him.

"N-not w-without m-mov-ing," Danny complained quietly.

"Help him get his hand out," Eric requested.

"Eric, that's not a good idea. If we move him at all we might injure him further. He might have internal injuries that are stable as long as he isn't moved," Henry argued.

"Please. If you won't give him pain relief, at least let him do this. He doesn't have to move much, just his hand, enough so it's not under him," Eric pleaded. He wanted to help his ancestor. He couldn't make ice reliably so he had to rely on Danny. Jenny glanced at Henry who sighed and nodded.

"Alright, Phantom, we're going to help you move your hand out. It might hurt, but bear with us okay," Jenny called soothingly to the teen. Danny tried to nod but groaned in pain instead. Jenny shuffled around to Danny's front and carefully eased Danny's hand out from under his side slowly, avoiding his injured arm Henry was holding still. Danny whimpered in agony but his hand was soon freed.

"Go ahead Danny. Make some ice," Eric encouraged. Danny's unfocused green eyes flickered blue as he gathered his swirling thoughts together enough to focus on his ice core. Eventually his hand began to glow blue and ice cubes began to form in his hand, pinned to the ground by his body. Jenny ran to the ambulance and grabbed as many slings to form ice packs with as she could. She put the badly formed ice cubes into the fabric and expertly tied them securely shut and gently placed them where they were needed. Danny yelped in pain when they were placed on his injuries. Eric grabbed an ice cube and ran it gently over Danny's lips, hoping the water would help the teen recover slightly.

"Who's the ghost?" Jack inquired as he and his wife made their way over to the group.

"Phantom's cousin," Henry answered, his determined and worried expression morphing into relief.

"What happened?" Maddie asked, her face impassive and stern, all business. Eric had to remind himself that these people didn't know Danny's secret and so had no idea that he was their son. Eric had to admit to himself, it was probably a good thing right now. They needed focused experts not emotional parents.

"We're not entirely sure. All we know is that Phantom was chasing some ghosts on a motorbike and the truck collided with him head first when he ran a red light. The ghosts got away as far as we know," Jenny told them. Maddie knelt beside Danny and scanned his condition.

"He's just started responding to his cousin," Ivan added helpfully.

Maddie snapped her fingers in front of Danny's face and he flinched slightly in surprise. She dipped a finger into the puddle of ectoplasm and examined the viscose liquid before frowning.

"I'll be honest. I've never seen a ghost act this way when injured," Maddie admitted.

"Can we give him pain relief?" Jenny inquired hopefully. Maddie blinked at the paramedic.

"Ghosts don't feel pain," Maddie retorted evenly as though it were obvious.

"Well this one _can_ ," Jenny insisted sternly. Eric watched the exchange with interest. He didn't want to draw attention to himself if he could help it but he didn't realise until this moment just how ignorant and naïve Danny's parents were.

"Ghosts can't feel pain. Their bodies lack noiciceptors, pain receptors. This ghost is acting. Unbelievably well, I'll admit. But anything you give him will only encourage him to keep up this façade," Maddie explained knowingly.

"That's not true! We do feel pain!" Eric snapped.

Maddie glanced at the halfa before gently moving Ivan away from Danny's injured leg. She examined the flowing wound before moving to Danny's arm being held by Henry, Ivan uncertainly returning to applying pressure receiving a groan of pain from Danny. Maddie gently took Danny's arm and before anyone could stop her she jerked it sharply to the side to examine. Danny cried out in agony.

"You're not helping!" Eric snarled protectively. Maddie raised an eyebrow.

"You aren't fooling me. I have studied ghosts for most of my life. I know what they're capable of. And they aren't capable of feeling pain," Maddie retorted with a clipped tone.

"I have to insist that you avoid hurting Phantom further. Ghost or not, I recognise pain when I see it. And the fact remains, Phantom is in pain. He is acting just like a human does in this situation," Henry interjected. Maddie blinked but let Henry gently take back Danny's injured arm to keep steady.

"Do you know how to stop the bleeding? I think that glass opened an artery," Ivan implored, the bandages were soaked once again. Maddie sighed.

"No, the best course of action would be to cauterise the wound. If a ghost loses too much ectoplasm it can start to fade. As far as I'm concerned that is the only dire injury Phantom has," Maddie answered. Eric glanced at the paramedics, hoping their faces or reactions would help him understand if they agreed. He wasn't knowledgeable in medicine or first aid.

"I'm sorry. What does fading mean?" Jenny asked.

"Fading is a ghost version of death. A ghost is an image of post-human consciousness. If the construct has nothing to bind with, it disintegrates," Maddie answered calmly, Eric gasped in horror.

"It may be our only choice. If we can't stop the bleeding," Henry muttered. Ivan pressed down on the wound to try and staunch the bleeding desperately. Danny whimpered in response.

"Jenny, get the equipment. Eric, keep him awake. I don't like the look of that head wound. So far he's acted and reacted like a human. I don't want to take chances," Henry instructed. Jenny nodded and ran to the ambulance. Jack and Maddie went to their vehicle and grabbed some weaponry that could be adjusted for ghost medical needs. They had been asked to save Danny Phantom. While they may not like it, the ghost was the best defence the town had. A necessary evil.

Eric bent down to whisper in Danny's ear. He needed to explain what was going on so that the older halfa could keep his secret.

"Danny, listen to me. You're in your ghost form. Your secret is safe for now. Your parents are here, trying to help you. They have to cauterise the wound in your leg because it won't stop bleeding. I don't really know what that is but-" Eric whispered in the teen's ear.

"It's b-burn-ing the w-wound sh-ut. Hurts l-ike _hell_ ," Danny mumbled. Eric blinked in surprise. Danny was sounding a lot more coherent.

"How do you know that?" Eric blurted out curiously.

"Had to do it b-before," Danny admitted softly.

"What's he saying?" Henry asked.

"Er, I'm just explaining what's gonna happen. He's a lot more with it now. He's cauterised a wound before," Eric answered as truthfully as possible. Henry blinked.

"He's been injured this badly before," Henry gasped in surprise.

"No. N-not like this. Got st-stabbed once. Real deep," Danny corrected.

"Good to see you responding Phantom," Ivan cheered with pronounced relief.

"How l-long have I b-been down?" Danny wondered. His head was finally clearing. It was hearing his parents that had finally pushed him to gather himself to think clearly.

"About an hour by our reckoning. Your cousin's been here for ten minutes and we've been here a little over half an hour," Henry answered.

"You said s-something about a crash? Is every-one okay?" Danny muttered.

"It was only a truck driver involved other than yourself. He was wearing a seatbelt. He's fine," Henry told him.

"How bad am I?" Danny asked.

"Pretty bad Danny," Eric mumbled.

"Specifics. I've had my f-fair share of in-juries. I mi-ight know h-ow to treat them," Danny elaborated.

"Bad break, left arm. Right leg, a glass shard from the windshield was imbedded. We removed it and can't stop the bleeding. Head injury. We haven't moved you," Henry reported.

"Do you need to pop any bones back?" Danny inquired.

"Won't know until an x-ray," Henry confessed.

"I can do better," Danny offered.

Henry frowned in confusion and was about to ask for clarification when the arm he was holding began to disappear, revealing the bones beneath.

"He's fading!" Ivan exclaimed fearfully.

"No, I'm not. Do you need to pop anything back?" Danny corrected. Henry blinked before scanning the injuries.

"Yeah, I need to set the radius back in place," Henry realised.

"Do it," Danny ordered.

"Phantom, that will be excruciating without pain relief," Henry protested.

"Just do it. I can handle it. The sooner I'm on my feet the better," Danny growled as he prepared himself. Henry glanced nervously at Ivan and Eric before shifting into a better position and as gently as possible popped the bone back in place. Eric watched worriedly as Danny's face contorted in agony, tears escaping his screwed shut eyes.

"Done. Are you okay?" Henry announced, returning to his place holding the limb steady to prevent hurting the teen further, the arm was still broken after all.

"Y-ye-ah," Danny answered shakily. Eric glanced around himself. He hoped Sam and Frostbite got here soon.

"I've got the stuff," Jenny shouted as she ran back over.

"Can you handle this?" Henry inquired worriedly.

"I have to," Danny mumbled shakily, physically shaking from the agony setting his arm back in place had caused.

"He's talking!" Jenny exclaimed happily.

"Yeah. He's cauterised a wound before so he knows what to expect," Ivan told her. Jenny nodded seriously as she knelt beside Ivan and set down everything they needed just beyond the still growing puddle of ghost blood. Maddie and Jack returned with a modified blaster.

"This should cauterise better than normal fire," Jack informed them, handing the implement to Jenny. She bit her lip worriedly.

"I really think we should use some kind of pain killer," she commented.

"How many times-?" Maddie grumbled.

"Enough! I feel pain and right now I'm not in the mood to hear that I'm less than human. Just do it," Danny snapped sharply. Maddie blinked in shock at Danny before shutting her mouth and taking a step back.

Jenny switched on the implement the Fentons gave her and removed the bandages Ivan had been using to stop the bleeding. She then tried to clean the wound as best she could.

"On the count of three, okay Phantom," Jenny called. Danny hummed in confirmation, preparing himself once again. He knew this was gonna hurt. And he was not happy about using a modified ecto-weapon designed to hurt him for this task.

"One," Jenny counted and hovered the stick of glowing green metal, heat radiating off it, over the deep gash in Danny's leg.

"Two," she resumed and braced herself for Danny to instinctively fight her off, Ivan and Henry were ready to hold the teen down as gently as possible to prevent him injuring himself further.

"Three," she shouted and pushed the device on to Danny's wound. Danny screamed in agony.

 **Chapter was getting a little long.**

 **But Danny's finally getting some treatment.**

 **Quick little disclaimer, I am not trained and so I can't be certain that the treatment methods used in this story are recommended for actual use.**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Make sure not to miss out on the anniversary event on my website. There's a link in my bio. There's polls on the page where you can tell me your favourite stories of mine. Who knows? I might be able to find a one-shot or a story in me to add to your favourites...**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	21. Chapter 21

The crowd winced as one when they heard the screams of their hero in agony. Tucker and Yazmin ran forward, stopped only by the yellow tape and a police officer. They craned their necks, trying to see what was happening. Tucker looked off into the distance towards Fenton Works. He really hoped Sam was on her way back by now.

Jenny removed the altered weapon and Danny stopped struggling in blind agony. It had taken everything in him to prevent the white band of light appearing around his waist. He gasped for air, his pants caused discomfort in his chest. He must have a cracked rib. There was nothing the paramedics could do to help with that. Time was the only cure for that one. He hoped he'd be healed enough to go to prom.

"Danny?" Eric called worriedly. It had been frightening to watch the teen thrash wildly against the paramedics while screaming at the top of his voice in pure pain.

"That hurt," he rasped unnecessarily. Eric breathed a sigh of relief. Jenny then cleaned the burned flesh and placed a clean dressing over the area.

"Ivan, get a splint for his arm and then we might try and move you, alright Phantom?" Henry delegated. Danny groaned as an answer.

Ivan nodded obediently and ran to get the things he needed from the ambulance. Now that Henry had decided to start treating Danny like a human rather than worrying about having to treat a ghost, they were finally addressing the problem. He jumped in and was about to dash back to the group when Lance shouted from behind the yellow tape.

"Excuse me! Can you give us a comment?!" Lance called hopefully. Ivan scanned the worried crowd before jogging over to the news reporter.

"We're treating Danny Phantom right now with the aid of the Fentons. We might be able to move him to the ambulance and then to the hospital soon. Everything is under control," Ivan explained as calmly as possible.

"What was that scream for?" Lance pressed, shoving his microphone back into the paramedic's face.

"We… under advisement from the Fentons, we were forced to cauterise a wound. Nothing to worry about," Ivan answered carefully. He knew he shouldn't be issuing a statement without first Danny's permission and his superior, Henry's say so. But he could see that the crowd wanted to hear that their hero was fine. Tucker watched as the paramedic returned to a hidden Danny and breathed a sigh of relief, having eavesdropped on the statement.

Henry quickly placed the splint on Danny's arm with practised ease. Then the three paramedics helped the teen roll on to his back. They moved slowly and carefully, pausing every time Danny winced and checked he was alright. It was discovered that the shoulder he had been lying on was dislocated which Danny told them to fix there and then, again without pain relief. Jenny and Ivan then ran back to the ambulance and got the gurney and a stretcher to move Danny on. They worked quickly and efficiently, strapping Danny in securely. Eric trailed along behind Danny uncertainly as they loaded the teen into the ambulance to go to the hospital to check for any hidden injuries and recovery.

Eric sat down beside Jenny as Henry and Ivan thanked Maddie and Jack before getting into the front.

"Don't worry Phantom. We'll make sure you're fine," Jenny assured the teen. Danny hummed.

"Eric, come here," Danny requested. Eric obeyed without question.

"Who came with you?" Danny whispered.

"Sam, Yazmin and Tucker," Eric answered softly.

"Are they still here?" Danny asked quietly.

"Sam went to get Frostbite," Eric correctly softly. Danny gave a slight nod.

"Thanks," he mumbled. Eric hesitated before perching back on his seat.

"Everything okay?" Jenny inquired worriedly as the ambulance pulled away.

"Yeah, just asking about the ghosts I was chasing. No sign of them apparently," Danny lied effortlessly. Jenny nodded in understanding.

"You should focus on yourself right now Phantom," Jenny remarked kindly.

"Yeah, well I worry. But trust me, Johnny is gonna regret running that red light. I bet he knew about that truck," Danny grumbled. Jenny blinked in surprise.

"If he knew, why didn't you?" she wondered.

"I pulled an all-nighter. I wasn't firing on all cylinders," Danny admitted. Eric frowned in confusion.

"Why?" Eric blurted out.

"I had a lot of stuff to do," Danny answered evasively.

"When we get to the hospital, we might be able to let you sleep. We just have to check that you're not in danger first," Jenny offered kindly. Danny gave a slight nod. He knew he wouldn't though. In the hospital there would be too many people, too much risk if he changed back to human, even for an hour to sleep. The pain was a manageable level for now. His leg still throbbed painfully and he had a splitting headache. But now he wasn't laying on a dislocated shoulder and his arm was immobilised in a splint, he felt a bit better.

He could hear the sirens outside as the ambulance made its speedy journey to the hospital. Danny sighed softly. The one time he made a special effort to get his homework done and he gets hurt so bad he can't go to school. It was typical. Why did he bother? Ironically he sensed that if he hadn't stayed up late doing his homework, the accident wouldn't have happened. It was a case of do his homework and get hurt or sleep and not get his homework done. He couldn't win.

The ambulance suddenly braked hard and came to an abrupt halt. Jenny stumbled forward onto her feet and pulled the window into the front open.

"What happened?!" she exclaimed.

"That. It's blocking the way," Ivan answered, pointing to the being barring the road. Eric glanced at Danny who was frowning in confusion, unable to check himself what was going on. Eric got to his feet and peered out through the front before smiling in relief.

"It's okay. That's Frostbite, he's a friend," Eric informed the ambulance. Danny's frown dissolved into a relieved smirk. If Frostbite took over his care then he could sleep without risk.

"Eric, let him know he got the right ambulance," Danny called.

"You knew!?" Jenny retorted in shock.

"Eric mentioned about a friend going to Frostbite. Frostbite knows tons about medicine," Danny admitted.

Eric phased out of the ambulance and ran over to the ghost.

"Frostbite!" Eric shouted in greeting.

"Friend of Danny Phantom. How is the Great One?" Frostbite greeted in return, with a gracious bow. Eric smiled.

"The er humans treated him the best they could. He's awake and talking. Seems okay," Eric reported. Frostbite grinned happily and followed the halfa back to the ambulance where they opened the back.

"Great One. I heard that you were injured," Frostbite announced, ignoring the fearful gazes of the paramedics.

"Just a bit. Mind taking me to the Ghost Zone. Cauterised wound right leg, broken left arm, been reset. Hit my head badly. Treated dislocated shoulder and I think a cracked rib or two," Danny informed the ghost. Frostbite nodded in understanding.

"Of course. May I borrow your gurney? I'd prefer not to move Danny Phantom unnecessarily," Frostbite requested.

"S-sure," Henry agreed nervously.

"I'll return it when I can," Danny added as Frostbite lifted the gurney out on to the street and Eric started to push the wheeled bed away to the side of the road.

Yazmin poked her head around the corner out of an alleyway and waved to Eric. He smiled and rushed himself and Danny over to the girl, finding Tucker and Sam there as well.

"Dude, you okay?" Tucker asked worriedly.

"Been worse. Been better. I'm gonna kill Johnny," Danny retorted.

"He's a ghost," Sam pointed out.

"I don't care. I'm gonna kill him and wreck that stupid bike," Danny growled in annoyance. Sam smirked despite the morbid sight of her boyfriend covered in his own ghostly blood and the bandages and splint on his leg and arm respectively, she could see he was more-or-less alright. As long as he was joking, she wouldn't get overly worried.

"Do you remember what happened then?" Tucker prompted curiously.

"Not really. I remember chasing Johnny and Kitty and then the next thing I remember were sirens and people shouting at me not to fall asleep," "Danny confessed.

"We should get you to the Far Frozen Great One. I can ensure your swift recovery there," Frostbite suggested.

"And pain killer. Please!?" Danny requested.

"They didn't give you any!" Tucker exclaimed outraged.

"They weren't sure if it was safe. They didn't know if pain killers would work or make things worse. But I did convince them to let Danny make some ice to help," Eric interjected with a sigh.

"Yeah and mom turning up and spouting nonsense about me not being able to feel pain didn't help," Danny muttered.

Sam led the way to the Speeder which was parked a little deeper in the alley. They trundled Danny's gurney on board and clambered aboard. Frostbite pulled out the glowing Infi-map and directed Sam towards the next portal. Within an hour they were in the Far Frozen and Frostbite picked up Danny's gurney to avoid pushing it through snow.

"Not moving stinks," Danny complained. Sam and Tucker smirked. They followed Frostbite to the underground ice caves that made up the Far Frozen hospital. Frostbite then called one of their doctors and the ghost administered some morphine before letting Danny get some sleep who reverted to human as he happily fell asleep. Ghosts tended to heal faster than humans, especially if they rested. And the same held true for halfas. Luckily there were no life-threatening issues any more, not with the wound in his leg cauterised.

"Did the Great One inform you that we had a potential solution for your problem," the ghostly doctor asked, nodding to Yazmin and Eric.

"No. When did you tell him?" Sam answered with a scowl.

"A few hours ago," the doctor informed them.

"Must have been one of those things he had to do last night. He said he got hit because he was tired from pulling an all-nighter," Eric commented thoughtfully.

"Probably stayed up to do his homework too. He's been trying to make a special effort for the last couple of months to hand in most of his assignments," Tucker added with a regretful sigh. Sam rolled his eyes.

"He needs to take better care of himself," she muttered.

 **Well, Danny's out of danger and on the road to recovery and healing.**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	22. Chapter 22

Hours later, Danny woke up. He felt stiff and sore, especially his leg. At some point, the straps and stiff stretcher beneath him were removed. He pushed himself up into a seated position, hissing in discomfort as he aggravated numerous bruises littering his body from the crash. He settled comfortably against his pillows and shut his eyes as he relaxed.

He took the moment of peace to run through what he remembered of the previous night. He went to talk to Valerie but she wasn't home. He patrolled. Nothing unusual. He checked in with the Far Frozen for news on Yazmin and Eric's unusual un-energised cores. He gasped as he remembered the news. They found a possible cure and he had promised to bring them over that afternoon. Then he went home and did his homework, taking a little time to investigate paranormal genetics as it was believed that Yazmin and Eric's ghost energy was similar to his, enough to potentially be related to him. Then he tried to go to sleep but his ghost sense triggered. He chased Johnny and Kitty and then it was a blur of flashing lights, pain and unclear voices. He opened his eyes and sighed softly. He didn't remember the truck at all.

The curtain that served as a door was pushed open and Sam walked in. She blinked and paused in momentary surprise before smirking.

"Have we learned our lesson?" she asked in a teasing tone.

"Lesson? You mean the one that it's pointless for me to do my homework instead of sleeping. Trust me, I've learnt it," Danny retorted with a semi-serious scowl.

"No. The lesson about crossing the road. You should always stop, look left and right before crossing," Sam corrected with a humorous smirk. She sat down beside him as he rolled his eyes.

"How do you feel?" she inquired genuinely, worry and concern seeping into her otherwise warm gaze.

"Better. But that wasn't hard to be fair. How long was I asleep?" Danny replied.

"It's five o'clock Amity Park time, we missed school. But Tucker's been stuck to his PDA and apparently the school was closed early because a lot of the students didn't turn up. Looks like your accident got a lot of people out of class today Danny," Sam informed him. Danny frowned.

"I'm glad to have helped," he grumbled in annoyance.

Sam nudged his shoulder gently with her own.

"Cheer up Danny. Frostbite reckons that with a little Far Frozen medical help, you'll be healed in no time," Sam encouraged.

"Doesn't change that Johnny and Kitty got away does it," Danny pointed out bitterly. Sam sighed.

"You'll get them next time. I'm just relieved that you're alright," Sam grumbled. Danny blinked and glanced at his girlfriend. He tried to put his arm around her but she had inadvertently sat on his left, beside his immobilised arm. He growled in annoyance. Sam turned to him in surprise before seeing what was upsetting him. She mumbled a soft apology and quickly ran around the bed and sat beside him again.

"Thanks. At least it's my left. If it was my right, I'd be screwed. No way is it gonna be back to full strength by tomorrow morning," Danny muttered, putting his arm around her waist comfortably. He didn't like sitting around and moping while he licked his wounds. But he had never been this hurt before. All because he didn't fly high enough to miss all potential traffic or stop and check the coast was clear. It was a stupid mistake which he knew was his own fault due to lack of sleep. But it still irked him.

"The ghosts here told us they had a theory for a, well it's not really a cure but whatever, for Yazmin and Eric. And Eric said you pulled an all-nighter," Sam commented. Danny nodded.

"Well, the last couple of hours were spent chasing Johnny. Not my choice. I had planned to get some sleep. I was doing my homework and I got distracted by something I learned here last night. They think that Yazmin and Eric has the same ghost energy as me. They reckon we're related. But our human DNA doesn't match up. I looked up ghost genetics last night but my mom published a paper basically saying it can't exist," Danny explained.

"But… how!? They aren't clones. They can't be as Vlad knew nothing about them," Sam exclaimed.

"I have a theory but there's no way for me to prove or disprove it. I thought that maybe all halfas had similar ghost energy. But the only way to know is to compare Vlad's energy to mine. Which is not gonna happen since he'll never give me a sample," Danny admitted. Sam scowled in thought before deciding that her boyfriend was right. They'd have to steal a sample and that wasn't Danny's style.

"Did they tell you their theory for helping Yazmin and Eric?" Danny wondered after a few seconds of comfortable silence. Sam shook her head.

"No. They wanted to wait for you. Said something about needing you for their theory to work," Sam answered easily. Danny nodded. He hissed in discomfort as he pushed himself to the edge of the bed.

"What are you doing?" Sam yelped in alarm.

"What does it look like? I'm getting up. I'm gonna have to be able to walk for tonight when I eventually go home," Danny retorted. Sam sighed but knew her boyfriend was right. The least she could do was help him so that he didn't end up falling down and hurting himself. She moved to his side and held out a hand to him, wordlessly. Danny smiled gratefully and took it. Sam pulled him up by his good arm and Danny used his good leg at the same time. It didn't take much to get the halfa standing. Then Danny tentatively put some weight on his leg and winced.

"Better start coming up with excuses. I'm gonna have a limp," Danny muttered with resignation. Sam frowned sympathetically and ducked under his good arm to act as his crutch. He smiled warmly at her and took an uncertain step forward towards the door. He nearly collapsed on the ground with a yelp and would have hadn't Sam held him up.

"Danny, maybe you should take it easy for another few hours. We could tell your parents you're staying over at Tuck's," Sam suggested.

"No. I'm doing this," Danny growled with determination. He righted himself and limped slowly to the door, wincing with every step. By the time they reached the curtain, Danny was shaking with pain and he was panting from the exertion. Sam watched him worriedly but didn't stop him. She knew how stubborn her boyfriend could get and this was one of those times where his stubbornness overruled his common sense.

Sam guided Danny through the large complex towards the others. Frostbite had provided them with a room with plenty of seats, refreshments and Tucker used his PDA to keep everyone up to date on the news from Amity Park. Sam led Danny into the room and dropped him gently into a seat where he slumped in relief. He would never admit it, but perhaps he should have listened to his girlfriend. That was not a long walk by any stretch of the imagination and it had been excruciating for him. Stupid leg.

"Dude! What are you doing walking around!?" Tucker exclaimed in alarm.

"He wouldn't listen to me," Sam informed the room exasperatedly.

"I'm f-fine Tuck," Danny croaked unconvincingly, still trying to recover himself.

"Yeah, you look it. Danny, you gotta take it easy. You got hit by a _truck_!" Tucker implored worriedly. Danny waved his uninjured hand dismissively.

Eric and Yazmin glanced at each other incredulously. They had no idea how stubborn and determined their ancestor was. In a way, it was awe-inspiring. He was a role model. But in another way, it was worrying. He seemed to have no regard for his health and wellbeing.

"Tuck, could you get some info on those paramedics that helped me?" Danny requested, ignoring the scowls he received.

"I'll need names Danny," Tucker pointed out grumpily.

"Uh," Danny retorted intelligently.

"Jenny, Henry and Ivan. They didn't give surnames," Eric interjected helpfully. Danny flashed the younger halfa a grateful smile. Tucker shrugged.

"Leave it with me," he muttered as he started tapping on his PDA.

"I thought I heard the Great One's voice. How do you feel?" a voice boomed happily from the doorway. Danny turned to Frostbite and grinned.

"Much better thanks. But um… my leg's still causing me problems," Danny began sheepishly, avoiding Sam's glare.

"Yes, I would think so. It was a very deep wound and will take time to heal. I shall get you some pain relief," Frostbite mused calmly. Frostbite left and returned moments later with a syringe in his immense paw. He knelt beside Danny and gently took the teen's arm and injected the liquid easily into a vein.

"That should help. I'll give you a couple of pre-measured doses to tide you over for the next day. If you continue to have problems, come back," Frostbite explained. Danny nodded before his slightly pained scowled eased into a relaxed expression as the pain killer took effect.

"Do you know how to self-administer or should I teach your friends?" Frostbite inquired.

"Wow, that stuff's great," Danny mumbled dreamily. Sam stepped forward with a worried frown.

"Maybe I should take over those injections Frostbite. Mind teaching me?" Sam interjected. Frostbite agreed happily and led the Goth into another room to teach her.

Eric and Yazmin watched Danny worriedly as he smiled lazily, his head lolling aimlessly. Tucker glanced at his friend before rolling his eyes.

"Better start coming up with a cover story. No way his parents aren't gonna notice him acting all spacy," Tucker commented before resuming his research. Danny blinked slowly and looked over to his friend.

"I'm… not spacy," he protested unconvincingly.

"Whatever," Tucker retorted dismissively.

Sam returned a few minutes later and sighed exasperatedly at her boyfriend who grinned at her like a drunk person.

"Hey Sammikins," he called blearily. Sam scowled.

"I'll let that slide since it's you and you're out of it right now. Tucker I think you should organise a sleepover," Sam remarked, sitting down beside her boyfriend who happily put an arm around her and snuggled into her neck. She rolled her eyes.

"Way ahead of you. I've already text my parents and rang Danny's," Tucker informed her calmly. Sam smirked at the techno-geek, Tucker definitely had his moments.

"The effects should ease within the next twenty minutes. Remember, twelve hours apart if you can. No less though," Frostbite warned poking his head into the room before he left. Sam nodded before huffing in annoyance and pushed her boyfriend out of her bubble. It wasn't that she didn't like being close to him, but this wasn't romantic. Danny was high on pain killers.

"Are you sure it's a good idea about him going home tonight?" Yazmin interjected worriedly as Danny refused to stop hugging his girlfriend.

"No. Not really but he does or did have a point earlier. If he wants to protect his secret then he's gotta keep up appearances. First being sleeping in his bed tonight. Tucker will keep him out of trouble and I'll have the syringes so it should be fine. But probably is a good idea we keep him away from my mom for the next day or so. If she ever saw him like this then I'll never hear the end of it," Sam assured her with a shrug, giving up on freeing herself from Danny's persistent embrace.

"I should go to the Nasty Burger tonight," Danny mumbled blearily.

"Huh?" Eric questioned in confusion.

"It's just the drugs," Sam excused the odd comment.

"No, I didn't talk to Val last night," Danny corrected. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Danny, you are in no condition to talk to Valerie. Let alone going out in public, as Fenton or Phantom," Sam refused sternly. Danny pouted childishly.

"But I gotta," he complained. Tucker sniggered.

"Tucker, I swear if you're recording this you're dead!" Sam growled. Tucker whined and stopped recording.

"It can wait Danny. Just focus on getting better for now alright," Sam reasoned gently. Danny looked up at his girlfriend with wide, pleading blue eyes.

"Ooh no! The puppy-dog look doesn't work for my cousins. It's not gonna work for you," Sam declined firmly, crossing her arms as much as she could with Danny hugging her.

 **So Danny's well on the road to recovery. It's not mentioned in the story, but the Far Frozen pain killer also boosts Danny's healing.**

 **Next, Yazmin and Eric's un-energised cores.**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	23. Chapter 23

Almost an hour after Danny had been given some pain killer and he'd stopped acting as clingy and spacy. He was still a little out of it, but he was a lot more normal. Frostbite returned and guided the group to the main room where the ghost doctor was ready to give a presentation explaining what they found out.

"We are pleased to see you are recovering quickly Great One," the doctor remarked with a smile.

"Thanks," Danny retorted brightly. Sam nudged him. They were trying to teach him when he was acting weird because of the drugs to help him keep his secret later without them around.

"I mean, thanks to you guys," Danny amended slightly quieter and more subdued. The ghosts smirked.

"We asked you to come today as we believe we have found a solution to your problem. Your cores lack energy however we believe if a jolt of compatible ghost energy is administered directly to your core, it will jump start your core into functioning properly, like Danny Phantom's," the ghost explained, directing himself towards Yazmin and Eric specifically, a slideshow appearing on a large screen behind the ghost.

"How?" Sam pressed curiously.

"And will it hurt?" Yazmin added worriedly.

"We don't know if it will hurt. It is possible unfortunately. As for how, that's where Danny Phantom comes in. His energy and their energy are exceptionally similar. Definitely compatible. He will need to phase his hand into their ghost forms and force a pulse of ghost energy into their cores. It may cause your powers to become difficult to control while the energy settles and your core accepts itself in a new energised form. We advise keeping a close eye on both halfas to ensure there aren't any complications," the doctor elaborated.

Tucker glanced at Danny who was nodding in understanding before raising a sceptical eyebrow.

"Is that a good idea when Danny's… like this?" Tucker asked. Danny blinked and turned to Tucker opening his mouth to demand what was his problem before he paused and realised what his friend meant.

"It is up to you. But we would prefer that this be done with a clear head," the doctor admitted, glancing at Danny warily. Eric glanced at Danny before turning to Yazmin. She looked nervous.

"Can we talk it out between us? Come to a decision together?" Eric requested, the ghost gestured to a private corner and Eric dragged Yazmin over to it.

"Well?" Eric asked. Yazmin bit her lip.

"I don't know. I mean, this sounds risky and Danny's not really himself right now. You?" Yazmin confessed.

"I want to do it. The Far Frozen ghosts are here to make sure it goes smoothly and if it's gonna cause my powers to go haywire, I want to do it as soon as possible. Valerie is gonna make her move against Vlad soon. Remember what Clockwork said. Danny feared Valerie after she got Vlad arrested. He has to tell her the truth before that. We need to be ready," Eric decided firmly. Yazmin gulped nervously before nodding.

"You're right. After everything that's happened I forgot that we were here for a reason," Yazmin muttered apologetically. Eric frowned sympathetically at her.

"Tell you what. I'll go first. Danny will know what he's gotta do after he's done it once and if there are any problems then they can fix them before they do you," Eric offered.

"Eric-" Yazmin started to protest.

"Don't. Someone's gotta go first. I'm older and I've already made up my mind," Eric interrupted firmly. Yazmin swallowed her arguments down and nodded mutely. Eric gave a curt nod and returned to the others.

"I want to do it. Now. So what do I have to do?" Eric announced.

Sam glanced worriedly at the younger halfa and then her boyfriend.

"Are you sure Eric? We could wait a couple of days," Sam offered. Eric nodded stubbornly.

"I'm sure. I want to do this. You'll be fine right Danny?" Eric confirmed, nodding encouragingly to Danny.

"Sure. But-uh… I probably don't have the best judgement right now," Danny replied, happy and excited at first before realising what he was saying and correcting himself. Sam smiled approvingly. Her boyfriend was learning that he was acting differently due to the medication.

"I trust you. Besides the Far Frozen ghosts can step in if anything goes wrong, right?" Eric decided, surprising himself by how honest he was being. He truly did trust Danny with his life. A person he had only met a number of days ago. The ghost doctor nodded slowly in agreement with Eric. They would be present the entire time.

"Very well. If you're certain. Eric, lay down here and change into your ghost form. Great One, we believe it would be best that this be done in your ghost form," the doctor instructed, gesturing to a bed nearby. Eric nodded and changed forms before laying on his back on the bed, staring nervously at the icy ceiling. He knew this was risky. It was probably one of the stupidest things he'd ever done. Letting Danny, who was currently high on pain relief, phase his hand into his body and release a pulse of ghost energy in an attempt to energise his core. They weren't even certain it would work. Danny nodded and changed into his ghost form. He grinned.

"That was so weird," he cheered happily. Sam and Tucker glanced worriedly at each other. Danny hovered a couple of inches above the ground so he didn't need to walk on his injured leg and floated to Eric's side.

"Alright, Eric can you remove your shirt and I'll attach a couple of electrodes to monitor your energy levels and your core," the ghost requested. Danny patiently floated beside the bed as Eric shrugged off his jacket and pulled off his white tank top. Eric then settled back and the ghost doctor placed two electrodes on his chest, one either side of where his core, inadvertently covering the gear-like mark on his chest.

"I'll talk you through it Great One. First stand or float here," the ghost told Danny. Danny obediently drifted over to a position beside Eric's head.

"Phase your hand here but make sure to keep it intangible. In the centre of his chest you should find a cold spot that we believe will react to your touch. Your similar energies should attract each other," the ghost instructed and Danny turned his right hand intangible up to the elbow and phased it into Eric's chest. Danny scowled in concentration as he carefully pushed his hand deeper and he gasped in surprise as his intangible fingers brushed against a freezing ball of tingling energy.

"I think I found it," Danny muttered.

"Good. Wrap your hand around it as much as possible," the ghost told him calmly, glancing at a screen with Eric's energy read outs displayed. Danny frowned and drifted an inch closer as he pushed his hand even deeper to get a better grip of the freezing ball of energy. Eric scowled as he felt his core flutter slightly.

"Are you alright Eric? If you wish to wait, it isn't too late," the ghost asked. Eric nodded.

"Just feels weird. I'm fine, keep going," Eric admitted evenly.

"Very well. Great One, you must push your own energy into your hand while keeping your hand and the energy intangible. Eric's core should simply absorb the energy," the doctor instructed. Danny frowned in deep concentration as he pushed his own energy into his intangible hand, making a special effort to keep that energy intangible too. He'd never tried that before.

An overwhelming feeling of cold and power coursed through Eric's body. He gasped. Then there was a stab of pain in his chest that caused him to yelp.

"Enough," the ghost commanded and Danny stopped pushing his energy into his hand, but he kept his hand in place. He frowned slightly as he felt the core his intangible hand was holding sent a chilled shock up his arm.

"Great One you can remove your hand now," the ghost doctor informed him. Obediently, Danny released the ball of energy and gently withdrew his hand, turning it back to its previous tangible state once it was removed from Eric's body.

"How do you feel Eric?" the ghost doctor inquired. Eric blinked. His chest was rippling with discomfort. Not pain exactly but by no means was this feeling pleasant.

"Okay… I think. It feels a bit weird still," Eric muttered uncertainly, putting a hand on his bare chest, trying to quell the unusual feeling.

The ghost nodded and turned back to the screen and examined the new readings. Danny floated lazily in to a casual sitting position.

"What kind of weird?" Danny wondered curiously. Eric looked up at the teen before shrugging.

"It's not painful. But it's just different. Uncomfortable. I don't know how to explain it," Eric described slowly. Danny cocked his head to the side.

"Is it a cold feeling? Or is it like electricity?" Danny prompted. Eric glanced at the floating teen before frowning in concentration.

"A bit of both," he admitted. Danny grinned brightly, reminding Eric that Danny was still a little out of sorts.

"Then it worked! I felt like that for a couple of days after my accident," Danny revealed happily.

"You never told us that," Tucker called, slightly confused and accusing.

"I thought it was a side effect of getting electrocuted," Danny dismissed the comment.

The ghost doctor hummed thoughtfully.

"I believe the Great One is correct. Eric's core is giving higher energy readings but we will have to wait and see to ensure it has activated the core. It might yet return to normal levels. If you wish, Yazmin, we could try and activate yours now," the ghost offered. Yazmin glanced nervously at Eric who was slowly sitting up.

"Alright. So I change into my ghost self first right," Yazmin agreed uncertainly. The ghost doctor nodded and gestured to another bed a short distance away from Eric who was removing the electrodes and pulling his top back on.

 **So it appears that Eric has an energised core now and Yazmin is also going through the procedure.**

 **Let me know what you think so far.**

 **Don't forget to check out my website and participate in the anniversary polls. There's a link in my bio.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	24. Chapter 24

It was getting late by the time that they returned to the Real World, parking the Spectre Speeder in the lab and creeping up into the kitchen. They breathed a sigh of relief. Danny's parents hadn't caught the five teenagers sneaking through the Fenton portal.

"Daniel Fenton! Where have you been all day?!" Maddie shouted as she stepped into the kitchen. Danny cringed. He was no way ready to face an angry parent. He was still prone to weird bouts of joy due to the pain killer in his system.

"I've been with Sam and Tucker," Danny offered carefully.

"I have been trying to get a hold of you all day," Maddie growled. Danny blinked and patted his pockets.

"Oh, uh. Forgot my phone in my room this morning," Danny realised apologetically. Maddie held up the device.

"I know. Danny… we've been worried sick today. We didn't get a call until six this evening to tell us you were alright! You heard what happened this morning didn't you?" Maddie retorted, her anger fading into concern. Danny swallowed nervously.

"I heard something about Phantom getting hit by a truck," he answered warily.

"Exactly! I don't want you to leave your phone at home again," Maddie agreed.

"Sorry mom. I really didn't mean to worry you. I forgot my phone and I didn't think that you'd be so worried. I'll try not to let it happen again," Danny promised.

"And if you had called us Mrs Fenton, we could have told you that he was fine," Sam added. Maddie blushed slightly as she handed the phone to her son. The ghosts at the Far Frozen had removed the splint on his broken arm, deciding that the limb had healed enough to remove it. Danny couldn't have the bandage if he wanted to avoid suspicion. He wouldn't be able to use the limb for the time being and it was agony if it got hit by anything, but at least his secret was safe.

"There's a lock on Danny's phone and I don't actually have your numbers written anywhere," Maddie confessed with embarrassment.

"See if you had a cell phone, that wouldn't be an issue," Danny pointed out with a smirk. Maddie rolled her eyes.

"I don't need a cell phone. Phones didn't always exist Danny," Maddie retorted.

"Great, I'll use that next time I forget my cell at home," Danny quipped cheekily. Maddie scowled at her son.

"Your father and I are going to the hospital. Phantom should still be there and we want to study him before he disappears off. Behave yourselves. And Tucker, you can stay over as long as your mother agrees," Maddie informed them before leaving.

"Good thing we got you to the Far Frozen instead," Tucker mumbled. Danny nodded in agreement. They heard the front door slam shut.

Danny groaned as he got to his feet, his leg still causing discomfort.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Back soon," Danny told them and limped out of the room. There was a mumbled response as Tucker got to his feet and grabbed something to eat out of the fridge and handed Sam a bottle of water. Suddenly Eric's ghost sense went off. Everyone jumped to their feet and got ready to face a ghost. But a few minutes later and there wasn't an attack. There weren't even explosions.

"Wait a sec. Danny ditched us," Sam grumbled in realisation.

"What do you mean?" Yazmin asked in confusion. Sam sighed.

"He wanted to talk to Valerie as quickly as possible but he couldn't find her last night. She's working tonight but I said it was a bad idea for him to go talk to her with him like he is. So he went behind our backs," Sam explained grumpily, grabbing her backpack and stomping out of the house. Tucker ran after her and the two halfas rushed to catch up.

Danny flew above his town, breathing in the night air. He loved night flying. He felt a little bad about lying to Sam and Tucker about where he was going, but this was important. He needed to stop Valerie targeting Vlad for whatever her reasons were. And if they were wrong and it wasn't Valerie, he needed to find that person as soon as possible. Vlad was dead serious about using his mayoral position to make Danny's life miserable. He'd done it once and Danny knew how easy it had been for Vlad. He was not willing to go through that again. So he had to do as Vlad said and find and stop the person endangering Vlad's secret. Besides, if Vlad lost his secret, then that could spell a whole lot of trouble for Danny too.

It didn't take long for him to reach the Nasty Burger. He flew down to the restaurant, turning invisible as he went. He didn't want to attract a lot of attention. He peered into the window and smirked. Valerie was on her way out. Obviously having finished her shift. He followed her casually and once she turned a corner into an alleyway, he turned himself visible.

"Hey!" he called brightly. Valerie gave a small scream and spun on her heel, her battle suit formed around her and a gun pointed itself at him.

"Woah! Easy. I'm only here to talk," Danny exclaimed with his hands up in surrender. Valerie blinked in surprise.

"Phantom!? I thought you were in the hospital!" Valerie realised. Danny grinned, lowering his arms as the gun pointing at his head folded back into her suit.

"There was really no need for that. Although those paramedics did help me out this morning. I just took a trip into the Ghost Zone to see a friend who helped me out," Danny answered.

"So… you're better?" Valerie ventured with a frown.

"A bit better yeah. Not sure I should get into a fight yet though. I still have a broken arm," Danny admitted. Valerie blinked at the comment.

"There you are! Danny!" Eric shouted as he ran into the alleyway having followed Sam and Tucker until his ghost sense triggered. Then Eric and Yazmin changed forms and started searching for the missing halfa.

"Who's he?" Valerie asked suspiciously.

"I'm his cousin," Eric lied.

"Cousin? You look more like brothers," Valerie remarked sceptically.

"Eric, what are you doing here?" Danny growled.

"You shouldn't be out here. You got hit by a truck this morning. Can't you take one night off," Eric retorted sternly.

"I'm not patrolling Eric. Just having a chat with Val. Right?" Danny pointed out, grinning broadly at Valerie. Valerie frowned.

"Er I guess. Is he alright?" Valerie offered uncertainly glancing at Eric.

"It's the pain killer he's on. It makes him a bit spacy and overly friendly. He was a lot worse a few hours ago," Eric explained. Valerie blinked in surprise. Danny rolled his eyes.

"I'm fine," he grumbled.

"You're not fine," Eric contradicted sternly.

"Why did you want to talk to me so bad Phantom?" Valerie interjected before an argument could start. Danny tore his annoyed scowl from Eric and grinned at Valerie.

"Right. I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about ghost weapons getting set up in city hall," Danny revealed carefully. Valerie frowned.

"Why do you want to know?" she asked defensively.

"Because sometimes ghost fights go past there and I wanted to know who set them up. I know it wasn't the Fentons," Danny answered easily.

"Oh right. I forgot that you keep an eye on them. It was me. I sent a letter in anomalously," Valerie admitted. Eric frowned in confusion. Did Valerie know Danny's secret after all? That couldn't be right. She wouldn't find out for another twenty years according to Clockwork, if the time line didn't change.

"Why?" Danny inquired. Valerie scowled angrily.

"Because I made a vow. I'm gonna make Vlad pay," Valerie snarled. Danny blinked in shock.

"Er… which Vlad are we talking about here?" he asked warily.

"Both of them. I know they're the same person Phantom. Vlad used me. I was just a pawn for him. At first I was gonna just chase him down, guns blazing but I figured that the better approach would be to reveal to the world the monster he is," Valerie answered angrily. She frowned at Danny's lack of reaction before scowling angrily.

"You already knew!" she shouted in furious realisation.

"I did. But how do you know?" Danny ventured carefully, truly quite shocked that the huntress knew the truth about Vlad.

"When we saved your cousin, your other cousin, Danielle. I went back to check on Vlad Masters. I saw everything. I saw him change into a ghost. I heard him gloating about how much he's used me. I am no one's pawn!" Valerie explained angrily. Danny nodded slowly in understanding.

"Valerie, I understand how you feel. But you've got to stop attacking Vlad," Danny began.

"Why are you protecting him?!" Valerie snapped sharply. Danny blinked in shock and shook his head.

"I'm not protecting him. I'm protecting _you_! Vlad is a very dangerous and powerful man. If he ever found out you were responsible for what you've done to him, he could destroy you," Danny warned seriously. Valerie scoffed and folded her arms.

"You're looking at one of Amity Park's best ghost hunters. He doesn't stand a chance," Valerie bragged.

"No, that's not what I meant. Valerie, he's the _mayor_! He can just frame you for some crime using his powers and then get you arrested. He can overshadow anyone. He owns the company your dad works for. He could fire him. Valerie, leave Vlad to me," Danny countered. Valerie faltered for a split second.

"How did you know about the weapons in city hall? I sent that letter at the weekend. And how did you know that I've done other stuff?" Valerie wondered out loud suspiciously. Danny rubbed his neck nervously.

"I'll be honest. Vlad thought that stuff was me. He came after me after the weapons in city hall and the ghost detectors sent to his business partners," Danny confessed warily. Valerie's expression darkened.

"Oh I see. I understand now. You're friends. Both of you have been destroying and controlling my life ever since you came here," Valerie growled.

"What!? That's ridiculous! Valerie, Vlad and I are arch enemies! We fight each other weekly. How could we ever be friends? And I think that you're forgetting that he hired you to try and get rid of me," Danny pointed out quickly.

Valerie frowned slightly in angered confusion. She shook her head.

"I'm not stopping Phantom. But if he's on to me, then I'll just have to step things up. Make sure I take him out before he can take me out," Valerie decided.

"Take out?! Who said anything about taking each other out!? If you leave Vlad to me, I can protect you. No one needs to get hurt," Danny exclaimed. Valerie scowled.

"Go back to your friends Phantom. I'll cover for you for the next couple of days. But I'm not backing down from this," Valerie snarled as her jet sled appeared underneath her feet and she zoomed out of the alley towards her apartment in Elmerton. Danny watched her leave, deciding against chasing the girl down. He sighed and glanced at Eric as he stared after the huntress with an unreadable scowl.

"That could have gone a lot better huh? Come on, better get home before my parents do. They're gonna be in a bad enough mood without me going missing again," Danny muttered disappointedly.

 **Another Valerie sighting. That conversation could have gone better but at least Danny knows who is going after Vlad and why.**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **I'm sorry this is late. I have so much going on in my life right now that it's hard to remember to come on here daily. But I will strive to keep to daily updates.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Make sure you didn't miss the last chapter. It was posted late.**

Danny groaned in discomfort the next morning. He woke up around six that morning from a dull burning ache in his leg and his healing broken arm wedged under his body. He rearranged himself but he couldn't get back to sleep. His alarm for school blared at seven and Tucker stirred from his slumber on the air mattress beside Danny's bed.

"It's too early," Tucker moaned. Danny scowled at his friend, before he slowly shifted his weight so that he could sit up and begin the difficult task of standing on a very painful, injured leg. He growled in pain as he staggered out of his bedroom to the bathroom. By the time he returned, Tucker was sitting up and tapping on his PDA.

He looked up at Danny as the halfa limped to his closet and pulled out some clothes.

"Need any help?" Tucker called with concern. Danny gritted his teeth as he experimentally pulled open his underwear drawer on his dresser. It hurt but he could handle the pain. The break would be healed by evening, all going well at least.

"Let me see how I go," Danny replied, barely hiding the pain he was in. Tucker frowned sympathetically.

"Sam told me to make sure you didn't take any aspirin or anything like that before we saw her. Taking extra pain killers isn't a good idea, especially when she's gonna give ya a really powerful one soon," Tucker informed Danny. Danny huffed in pained annoyance as he fumbled with his pyjama top buttons.

"Great. Why did I change last night!?" Danny complained.

"Because we didn't think about this morning when we got ready for bed last night," Tucker answered helpfully. He rolled off the bed and got up off the floor, stretching his back with a rested groan.

"Did you sleep okay?" Tucker asked as he pinched some deodorant from Danny's dresser, spraying liberally.

"Until six. I think I woke up because the pain killer wore off. I got it about five or six didn't I?" Danny admitted. Tucker paused and nodded in agreement.

"'Bout that, yeah. Don't worry, when we get to Sam's, she'll give you one of those doses Frostbite gave her," Tucker assured his friend, watching poised to help Danny as he struggled to get dressed, having most difficulty with his jeans. Tucker helped Danny hobble downstairs where they had some cereal before they made their way to Sam's.

"You doing alright dude?" Tucker asked worriedly. Danny nodded with a pained scowl.

"We can take a break if you need it," Tucker offered kindly.

"I'd rather just get to Sam's and have that pain killer Tuck," Danny admitted in a strained tone. Tucker nodded in understanding. They made their way to Sam's as quickly as Danny's leg and pain threshold allowed, being forced to take a five minute breather along the way. Tucker knocked on the door while Danny collapsed on the steps to the front door, exhausted. Yazmin answered the door.

"Oh. Sam's just grabbing her stuff. And Eric fell back to sleep so he's running late. We'll be ready in a few minutes. How are you Danny?" Yazmin greeted them, looking at the older halfa with concern.

"I'm fine," Danny gritted out, massaging his aching scabbed cauterised wound.

"He's in a lot of pain. Mind asking Sam to hurry up?" Tucker informed the girl with a small hopeful smirk. Yazmin nodded and stepped back into the house.

Tucker glanced at his friend before huffing.

"This is stupid. Why are we waiting out here?" Tucker grumbled.

"Because Mrs Manson hates me and I'm not up for getting up and trying to walk normally. Thankfully my parents didn't see me longer than a few seconds this morning," Danny retorted. Tucker rolled his eyes but didn't argue. A few minutes later, Eric, Yazmin and Sam filed out of the house, Eric slamming the door shut behind him.

"What took you lot so long?" Tucker complained.

"Eric fell down the stairs. Tripped over his foot turning intangible. Sorry," Sam informed them with an apologetic smile. She crouched down beside her boyfriend.

"How are you doing?" she muttered.

"Fine. You have the pain killer right?" Danny mumbled hopefully. Sam nodded.

"But I can't give it to you here. If anyone saw, it would get back to my parents and they'd freak. Come on," Sam told him and held out a hand to help him up. Danny nodded but groaned softly in disappointment.

The group of teens left the doorstep and entered the next dark alleyway. It was narrow and turned a corner before ending in a dead end. Hidden from view, Sam pulled a case crafted from ghost ice and plucked out a ready syringe. She flicked the glass and squeezed a fraction out to ensure there were no air bubbles, this was important because an air bubble in the blood could prove fatal. Danny held out an arm and Sam gently took it and pressed the needle into his skin, finding a vein quickly. Danny winced as the liquid was injected into his arm and Sam removed the syringe. She grabbed a tissue she brought with her and wiped the syringe clean before dropping it into a nearby trashcan. They didn't want the needle to be tracked back to the teens for whatever reason.

Danny's pained scowl slowly faded into a lazy smirk.

"Much better," he breathed. Sam smiled at her boyfriend. She gently ducked under his arm and started to lead him out of the alleyway. Danny grinned and leant against her heavily, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Have I ever told you how wonderful you are?" Danny slurred happily.

"Yes Danny. I hope Lancer doesn't call ask Danny any questions this morning," Sam retorted, glancing at her boyfriend worriedly. Tucker chuckled as he agreed. Sam grunted under Danny's weight as he drunkenly stumbled along beside her.

"Danny, you're too heavy for me. Can you please not lean on me so much?" Sam requested. Danny laughed but took back his own weight.

"I could take him," Tucker offered.

"Take me where?" Danny wondered blearily. Sam rolled her eyes. The sooner he was off this pain killer the better in her opinion.

"To school Danny. Man this is gonna be a long day," Tucker groaned.

The first class of the day for Tucker, Danny and Sam was with Mr Lancer. They made sure to get to the class first and dropped Danny into his usual seat. Both Sam and Tucker hoped that Danny would get a little easier to handle during this lesson because they couldn't cover for him the whole day. Gradually the rest of the class filed in. The room filled with chatter while Sam and Tucker tried to keep a careful eye on the halfa. Danny was in a little world of his own, dreamily staring out the window, humming absently. Mr Lancer came in and called for order.

"Now just because most of you didn't come in yesterday doesn't mean you were excused from handing in your book reports," Lancer announced and started to go around the room, collecting the papers. He paused at Danny's desk.

"Mr Fenton, do I even need to ask? Have you got the book report?" Mr Lancer sighed without much hope. Danny blinked.

"Er, yeah I did it. Um, Tuck did I put it in my bag?" Danny answered uncertainly. Tucker grabbed Danny's bag and dug out the handwritten report and grinned.

"Yep, it's here," Tucker revealed and handed the paper to the teacher.

Lancer blinked in surprise and took the report. He frowned worriedly at Danny who was grinning lazily up at the teacher.

"Are you alright Mr Fenton? You don't seem yourself this morning," Lancer asked worriedly. Danny nodded with a brighter grin.

"Uh, he ate some bad um eggs last night and had a stomach bug. He's fine," Tucker lied. Lancer raised an eyebrow.

"Perhaps you should go home then Daniel. If you are unwell, I'm surprised that you came in today," Lancer suggested.

"He's fine Mr Lancer. He might just act a little weird today. His mom gave him some weird Fenton family cure," Sam added, they couldn't let Danny's parents know that their son wasn't healthy. It could lead to disastrous consequences. Lancer nodded uncertainly, shooting one last concerned glance at Danny, who had returned to gazing out the window, before continuing around the room collecting homework assignments.

Throughout the rest of the lesson, Danny hardly listened to Lancer and the teacher kept a concerned eye on the halfa. Sam and Tucker made sure that Danny didn't get too lost in feeling great from his pain killer with hissed warnings or nudges and kicks. By the end of the first lesson, Danny had started to come out of his dazed stupor and became a lot more aware of himself. Together they walked out of the class, Lancer just shook his head.

"I've seen weirder during the last week of school. And I've seen weirder from Daniel," Lancer commented to himself before he started grading papers.

The rest of the day was more or less normal, with Danny regularly lapsing into unexplained happy moods due to his medication. In fact due to Tucker's lie about Danny being recently ill, Dash was reluctant to get too close to the halfa and hadn't caused the teen any trouble so far. It wasn't until lunchtime before the trio started to hear gossip about Phantom among the other students as they discussed the accident the previous day and news that Phantom was no longer in the hospital. Yazmin and Eric joined them having had stressful days of dropping and tripping throughout the morning due to their powers causing issues. Eric had even had to leave class to get his ice powers under control when people started complaining that the air conditioning must be broken.

Ten minutes before the bell rang, Danny's ghost sense went off. Danny frowned and scanned the cafeteria for any sign of the ghost.

"Don't even think about it Danny. You are in no condition to fight any ghosts!" Sam hissed sharply. Danny spared her a side-glance.

"I just want to make sure that Valerie can handle it," Danny muttered.

"Dude, you can't fight a ghost with a broken arm. If Valerie can't handle it, you definitely can't," Tucker grumbled. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Guys, I'm seriously not that bad. My arm will be back to normal by tonight and I've had my pain killer. Besides I don't have to fight it alone or up close," Danny reasoned calmly. Sam and Tucker scowled but didn't argue with him.

Danny got up from his seat and walked out of the cafeteria. The other four rushed after him. Danny quickly marched through the neighbouring corridors before he was suddenly grabbed by a pair of invisible strong hands and was thrown into an empty classroom. He slammed into a desk which tipped over and sent a couple of chairs toppling as well. Danny groaned as he collected himself and struggled to his feet. His leg, while numbed of pain, was still weak.

"Come now Daniel. If you're going to look for trouble you should be prepared to find it," a voice drawled as a blue skinned, white suited ghost appeared in the room. Danny glared at the ghost.

"What do you want Vlad?" Danny growled. Sam, Tucker, Eric and Yazmin barged into the room.

Vlad glanced over his shoulder before frowning at the younger halfas.

"I would prefer to have some privacy," Vlad muttered in annoyance.

"Vlad relax. They're those ghosts you saw me with a couple of days ago in that warehouse," Danny reassured the older halfa in order to prevent an argument. Vlad raised an eyebrow before shrugging.

"Fair enough. I came for a progress report. Have you found the person irritating me?" Vlad inquired expectantly. Danny's jaw dropped.

"When did you expect me to find them!? I got hit by a truck yesterday!" Danny exclaimed in disbelief. Vlad shrugged.

"I thought that you might have sent your fan club to look for them," Vlad mocked. Danny scowled.

"When I'm better I'll get on it Vlad," Danny growled in annoyance. Vlad sniffed unimpressed but didn't argue. He teleported out of the classroom without another word.

 **An eventful day for Danny.**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	26. Chapter 26

After school the five teens went to their training warehouse. Danny had decided to resume training despite his injuries. Sam and Tucker weren't happy but it was better than letting Danny patrol instead. Sam and Tucker settled down to start their homework while the halfas changed their forms and Danny turned to Eric and suggested training his ice powers. Yazmin was to watch in case she developed a similar power which Eric and Yazmin knew was typical of halfas from coming from a long line of halfas.

"First thing you need to know is… you control the power, the power does not control you. So you need to build up that cold feeling in your body until it has nowhere to go but out. I know that you've trained to use your ice powers before Eric, but I want to start at the basics so I know you have those clear," Danny instructed. Eric nodded and focused on his ice powers. He then released a wave of ice, aiming to form a frosty ring around himself. But he actually made an icy blast that caused Danny to cry out in alarm. He quickly made a shield to protect the others in the warehouse but he made it so that it included himself and Eric on the inside. Danny dropped to the ground just in time to avoid the wave of ice energy which froze the inside of the shield. Eric blinked in shock.

"I didn't mean to let off so much," Eric yelped worriedly. Danny dropped his shield and the ice cracked and shattered before he drifted back to his feet.

"Don't worry about it Eric. You were used to accessing your powers before your core got energised. Your powers are gonna be more powerful and easier to reach. Maybe it is a good idea that we're starting with the basics after all," Danny assured the teen.

Eric nodded. He heaved a big sigh to relax himself.

"Are you alright? I didn't hurt you right?" Eric asked worriedly. Danny smiled and shook his head.

"I'm fine Eric. Nothing you do is gonna hurt me," Danny reassured him. Eric smiled nervously.

"I'll make you some targets and we'll start working on using ice for fighting," Danny decided. Yazmin decided to practice floating while she watched and listened Eric's lesson on using his ice powers, both younger halfas were shocked to learn that they could use their eyes to fire off an attack. While Eric trained, Yazmin gradually grew more comfortable drifting casually around the room and even learned to split her focus between keeping afloat and exploring her energy.

Without her knowledge, she began listening to Danny's lecture on ice powers and began following his instructions, latching on a silky ball of energy deep inside her. Sam and Tucker were the first to notice the warehouse getting darker. Sam checked the time but saw that it was way too early for it to be getting dark. Suddenly the shadows throughout the warehouse reared up like wild animals and lunged at everyone present. Eric and Danny, who hadn't noticed the warehouse steadily darkening and were focused on teaching Eric to shoot beams of ice energy with his eyes, were completely caught off guard and caught in shadowy tentacles. Sam and Tucker yelled in alarm as the shadows attacked them, jumping to their feet and dodging.

Yazmin squeaked in surprise but quickly noticed that not one shadow lunged at her. Danny and Eric fought to free themselves.

"What the heck!?" Danny growled in frightened frustration as the shadow constricted tighter around him. Sam paused in her fleeing to notice that Yazmin wasn't being attacked.

"Yazmin! Are you doing this!?" Sam shouted to the halfa. Yazmin glanced at her before shaking her head and shrugged, she didn't understand what was going on or if she was responsible or not. Eric turned his head to the female halfa and noticed that her ghostly eyes weren't a vibrant green. They swirled with darkness that didn't completely blot out the neon green.

"Yazmin! You have to stop this!" Eric yelled urgently, glancing at Danny worriedly. The older halfa was injured, and Eric could see that the shadows were pressing on the teen's broken arm and injured leg.

Yazmin gaped frantically as she tried to figure out how she even caused the crisis. Her panic only caused the shadows become more aggressive, finally catching Tucker who tripped over a broken piece of crate left over from a ghost fight with the Box Ghost or a stray shot from training. Danny gasped for air as the shadows tightened around him further, unknowingly Yazmin had encouraged the shadows to focus on Danny as she was subconsciously focusing on him, hoping for his help. Danny shut his eyes as he focused his energy enough to form a duplicate which he sent to Yazmin.

"Yazmin, you control the power. The power doesn't control you. Take a deep breath and calm down. Stressing is only going to make this worse," the duplicate instructed quickly, holding the girl still by her shoulders. Yazmin looked into Danny's duplicate's green eyes and nodded. She took a deep breath and relaxed herself as much as possible. The shadows around the warehouse stopped lashing out at Sam and stopped tightening around Tucker, Eric and Danny.

"Good, much better. Now, I need you to reach to those shadows again. I want you to call them to you. Can you do that?" Danny's duplicate told her, starting to fret himself as his original wasn't able to breathe and his duplicate was going to fail soon if he didn't get Yazmin to stop the shadows. Yazmin blinked and bit her lip worriedly before taking a deep breath and focused on the silky ball of energy inside herself and whispered to herself for the shadows to come to her. Gradually the shadows lessened their grips around the boys, Tucker and Eric dropping to the ground coughing for air simultaneously.

"That's it. You're doing great. Keep it up," Danny's duplicate encouraged. The shadows finally released Danny and he dropped to the ground coughing for air, clutching his healing broken arm to himself and clenching his eyes shut against the waves of pain flashing through his body from his arm and leg. The shadows then drifted into the air and converged around Yazmin.

"Great Yazmin, now you have to dismiss the shadows," Danny's duplicate informed her, eyeing the shadows warily. Yazmin nodded and muttered the order to herself.

Sam ran to Danny's side as the duplicate faded and the shadows dispersed.

"Danny! Are you okay!?" Sam exclaimed worriedly. Danny took a few deep calming breaths before nodding.

"Ye-ah. Yeah. I'm fine," Danny forced out between breathless pants. Sam helped him sit up as Yazmin landed a few feet away, watching Danny worriedly with guilty eyes.

"I'm so sorry Danny. I didn't mean for that to happen," she offered sincerely. Danny glanced at her and flashed her a reassuring smile.

"It's fine Yazmin. New powers tend to be uncontrollable. When I get my breath back I'll help you control those shadow powers alright?" Danny replied.

"How are you gonna do that dude?! You don't have shadow powers," Tucker interjected as he joined the others, dusting off any lingering dust on his clothes.

"Well, I'll just have to wing it. I've learnt that ghost powers all follow similar rules. Some powers are just more overwhelming than others. My ice works similar to my ghost ray, I don't see why Yazmin's shadows would be much different to any of my powers. Besides what I told her to do seemed to work," Danny reasoned with a shrug, getting back to his feet with Sam's help.

Once Sam had backed away from her boyfriend, confident he was able to stand alone despite the shadows having aggravated his injuries, including the one on his leg, Danny stretched out his injured arm and winced. He flexed his hand experimentally and stretched again.

"I don't think those shadows re-broke my arm," he reported with a relieved sigh. Yazmin flinched at the comment.

"I'm sorry," she offered guiltily. Danny shook his head.

"It's fine Yazmin. It was an accident and apart from a bit of discomfort, no harm done. I'm not angry or upset with you," Danny assured her calmly before taking a few tentative steps towards the female halfa, nodding with satisfaction that his injured leg hadn't gotten worse. Both injuries still ached and twinges of pain flashed out from them, but he was confident that the incident hadn't caused any lasting damage.

"Okay. Let's get to training that shadow power. We can start with accessing it safely. So, do you know how you accessed it in the first place," Danny began, more or less recovered from the surprise attack. Yazmin nodded nervously. Danny smiled kindly.

"Hey, relax. You did nothing wrong. Ghost powers can be scary before you get control of them. Focus on that shadow there. Just that one. And I want you to take control of it if you can. Make it hover in the air," Danny told her, pointing to a small shadow cast by a crate. Yazmin took a deep calming breath and nodded. Her neon green eyes swirled with dark shadows and the shadow detached itself from the crate and floating into a shifting blob a few feet above the crate. Danny grinned and started talking Yazmin through a few exercises that caused the shadow blob to take specific forms and move safely around the room.

Once Yazmin relaxed into the training and had fairly good control of the shadow, having found out that she could make it larger and smaller as she wished, Danny moved on to adapting the power for fighting purposes. In a world full of ghost hunters, halfas had to know how to fight and defend themselves. He, through trial and error, taught Yazmin to make a shadow blast that exploded into an inky glue-like mass and to form a shadowy sword. He also taught her to make shadow creatures that, through concentration, she could use to fight for her.

Confident that Yazmin had a good grasp on how to control her new power, he moved on to a lesson with both halfas where he taught them some more defensive moves with their regular ghost energy, such as forming shields and a little hand to hand combat. Halfway through the teaching spar with Eric, Danny was forced to stop as his pain killer was wearing off and Sam obliged by giving his next dose, Tucker and Eric leaving to get food from the Nasty Burger while they waited out Danny's initial weird and spacy phase caused by the drugs.

 **That was unexpected. Anyone guess that would happen?**

 **What do you think of Yazmin's shadow powers?**

 **Let me know your thoughts and opinions. I love hearing them.**

 **Don't forget to check out my 2 year anniversary page on my website. There's a link in my bio.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	27. Chapter 27

The next morning Danny felt almost back to normal. His leg was still a little weak and hurt if he accidentally hit it or put too much weight on it, but his arm was completely healed. His leg would hopefully be healed by the time school was over. He was glad for three reasons. The first was because he didn't like having to rely on Valerie to protect the town. It was his responsibility. The next was because he didn't think he could get away with acting weird for another day due to his pain medication. And the third was because Jazz was coming home today. He hated worrying his older sister and he knew she would freak out enough to learn that he'd been involved in a road accident without adding fuel with clear injuries from the ordeal. He knew she would find out, but it was better that he could reassure her that he had healed already.

He went to school, stopping at Sam's to collect his girlfriend and the two halfas. Seeing that he was back to normal, Dash didn't waste time to shove Danny into a locker before heading to class. His ghost sense went off twice throughout the day, the first being Skulker who periodically attacked hoping to catch Danny off guard and acquire his pelt. Thankfully the ghost didn't attack the previous day or he might well have succeed. The second was a slime monster that had a liking for using cars as playthings, with or without passengers inside. That took almost two hours to take down.

By the end of the day, the entire town knew that their hero was back to health and out on the streets, or above them, protecting them. After school, Danny called off training in favour of heading home to wait for his sister to arrive and get some homework done. Jazz's car pulled up, filled with stuff from college as she was home for the summer, at five that evening. Jack was extremely excited for his daughter to be home. It was no secret from those close to the Fenton family that Jazz was closer to Jack and Danny used to be closer to Maddie. Not that both siblings didn't love both of their parents, but they tended to get along better with one over the other. Jack seemed to always make embarrassing comments and mortified his son whereas Jazz and Maddie often devolved into debates that turned into full blown arguments if left alone together for too long.

Sam, Tucker, Yazmin and Eric kept a respectful distance while the family reunited, Jack offered to bring in his daughter's luggage, grabbing Danny to help him before the halfa could decide either way. Danny carefully made sure to carry the lighter objects to prevent straining his still healing leg and his newly healed arm, letting Jack grab the heavier items. After an hour of catching up, Jazz, Danny and the others headed up to Danny's room so that Jazz could catch up on ghost news.

"So that's pretty much it," Danny concluded, having left out a few of the more concerning stories that his sister didn't need to know such as getting hit by a truck. He had yet to track down Johnny and Kitty. He was hoping to do that during that night's patrol.

"You forgot that truck the other day," Eric helpfully reminded the older teen. Jazz's eyes widened and turned worriedly to Danny who shot an annoyed glare at the younger halfa.

"What about a truck!?" Jazz exclaimed, having not been as attentive to Amity Park news the past week or two as usual due to exams.

"It's not a big deal Jazz. I was chasing Johnny a couple of nights ago and didn't see a truck," Danny answered evasively.

"It was on the news and this idiot was high on pain killers almost all yesterday. Thankfully we got to Frostbite before the paramedics got him to the hospital," Sam elaborated. Jazz scowled at Danny.

"Why didn't you tell me!? You should have called!" Jazz accused.

"In fairness Jazz, he was pretty out of it most of the day it happened. But right after taking his medication he was pretty fun to be around. I've got a couple of videos," Tucker offered with a grin. Danny shot an annoyed glare at his friend who didn't acknowledge the look. Jazz shook her head.

"I want to know when my brother gets hurt. Are you still on that medication? What injuries do you have? Did anyone find out your secret?" Jazz questioned worriedly.

"Jazz chill. I'm fine. I didn't tell you because you would have just got worried and worked up. I'm not on medication anymore. I've already healed and no, no one found out my secret by some miracle because the truck driver apparently kept me awake until the paramedics got there and they stopped me falling asleep," Danny informed her soothingly. Jazz didn't look convinced.

"I can show you the news clips of the accident," Tucker suggested, fingers poised over his PDA. Jazz chewed her lip nervously before nodding. Tucker found one of the later news reports and handed it to Jazz. On the screen was Tiffany Snow with an image of Danny Phantom behind her.

"This morning our local hero, Danny Phantom, was involved with a head on collision with a truck on its way to deliver fresh produce to a local supermarket. According to paramedics on the scene, Phantom was in a critical condition when they arrived, with a deep leg wound which was later cauterised on site, broken arm, head injury and a later diagnosed dislocated shoulder and cracked ribs, but once ghost experts Madeline and Jack Fenton arrived on the scene, the ghost teen started talking to them and together they were able to treat his injuries. Reports state that another ghost was present and claimed to be cousins with Phantom. We have also been told that the ambulance that was taking Phantom to the hospital was intercepted by a large white furred ghost that took Phantom to the Ghost Zone with the ghost teen's cousin. In other news-" Tiffany Snow reported with a serious expression.

Jazz handed the PDA back to Tucker and turned to Danny, hands on her hips and a stern expression.

"What? I'm fine. It's not like I haven't broken my arm before. And those other injuries weren't nearly as big a deal. They were healed by that night. Well, my leg is still healing but it's fine," Danny retorted defensively. Jazz sighed and shook her.

"Anything else he hasn't told me?" Jazz inquired looking at the other four teens, having been introduced to Eric and Yazmin and learnt of their halfa statuses.

"Valerie knows about Vlad and was looking to have a long standing truce and a fresh slate with Danny until he tried to get her to back off," Sam told the college girl. Jazz raised an eyebrow.

"Back off?" Jazz repeated in confusion.

"She's been targeting Vlad. And he's threatened me to find the person responsible and stop them. It didn't go down well," Danny explained to his sister with a sigh. Jazz gasped worriedly. Danny shrugged. He didn't know how he was going to approach Valerie again to ensure she stopped attacking Vlad. Honestly he was dreading that meeting.

"Are there any news reports on today?" Jazz asked, wondering if Valerie was still ghost hunting or solely focusing on hurting Vlad. Tucker blinked and tapped on his PDA. He turned his device so that they could all see the screen, turning up the volume.

"Hi, I'm Tiffany Snow. Today it seems that our hero Danny Phantom is back to work protecting Amity Park, judging from his presence at a ghost attack at one this afternoon. After almost two hours, the ghost teen successfully defeated the ghost. In other news-" Tiffany Snow reported cheerfully and the group listened to a number of pointless reports on other news stories. Tucker stopped the clip once it ended and glanced expectantly at Jazz. The college girl was frowning in thought.

"I think we need to be extra careful for the time being. Especially you Danny. If she's finally gotten enough of Vlad's attention to validate him trying to track down the person responsible, even if he has outsourced Danny, she's getting too close for comfort. If he's revealed, we can't be sure that Danny and Eric and Yazmin won't be too. Have you told Vlad yet?" Jazz commented. Danny shook his head.

"No. I don't want him to go after her. She won't stand a chance against Plasmius. I'm hoping to convince her to stop without getting him involved," Danny admitted.

"I think you should tell him Danny. If he knows whose targeting him, he can prepare. You can barter for her protection in return for revealing her role in his problems," Jazz advised. Danny didn't look convinced.

"She won't do anything until after prom. It can wait until then," he decided. Jazz frowned at the remark but didn't argue.

"Speaking of prom, what are you two gonna do?" Sam wondered turning to Yazmin and Eric. The halfas blinked in surprise before glancing at each other, coming to a silent decision to attend without Danny's knowledge. Because they were right, Valerie wouldn't attack before prom. Prom might be their chance to convince Danny to tell Valerie his secret and prevent that awful future for himself and the hardships his descendants faced due to Valerie's actions.

"We'll probably just do homework or watch films at Sam's," Eric lied. The older teens nodded in agreement to the plan.

Meanwhile across town, a blue portal opened in the park and a large man wearing black and red armour stepped through. He scanned his surroundings and frowned.

"Those ghosts got away. I wonder if that old ghost sent them to the right time," the man muttered to himself. He stalked across the grass and ignored the glances he received from relaxing civilians in the park. He walked across the street and found an electronics shop, complete with working TV screens showing the news. He scowled at the news and saw Danny Phantom's image behind a smiling blonde woman. He grinned.

"Well, what do you know? This is the right time after all," the man commented to himself quietly.

"Come on Val! Star! If you're gonna help me find a ghost, then you've gotta actually take me to some hotspots!" a teenaged boy with dark brown hair exclaimed as he grabbed a petite blonde's hand and dragged her towards the park.

"Come on Valerie," the girl called to a girl with thick dark wavy hair.

"I'm coming," the girl retorted with a smirk.

The man watched the girl, recognising her almost instantly as his ancestor, Valerie Gray. He had grown up seeing pictures of the infamous Red Huntress. The one to discover halfas. The one who Danny Phantom manipulated and caused her to be incarcerated in prison for doing the right thing.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to let that disgusting ghost scum destroy your life Valerie. With him gone, there won't be any more and this world will be safe," the man whispered. He stepped into an alleyway.

"But first, I'll need to watch my target and make sure I know what I'm dealing with. Starting with finding where he lives. And perhaps an abandoned apartment I can stay the night," the man reminded himself, tapping a button on his gauntlet to materialise his jet sled and zooming off into the darkening evening to do just that.

 **Gasp! The Phantom hunter is back!**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	28. Chapter 28

The last day of school. Danny couldn't believe it. In some ways it felt like only yesterday that he started at Casper high but in others the day had been a long time in coming. Graduation would be in a couple of weeks. There was a relaxed atmosphere all day. Mr Lancer even gave a farewell speech to the students, saying that despite their faults, he had enjoyed teaching them. He even pulled Danny back at the end to wish him luck with whatever had interrupted his school career, clearly hoping that Danny would open up and sate the teacher's curiosity. Unfortunately Danny had to disappoint him. But the gesture had touched the halfa. One of the teachers even started tearing up ten minutes before the bell rang, choking out something about it always being hard saying goodbye to the students. The year was then called into an assembly before the end of school.

"Now, I know that you are all looking forward to having fun tonight at prom. But I want to just go over a few rules and regulations before you leave. Like it or not, you are still students in this school until graduation and we can and will expel students for misconduct. If that happens you will have to find an alternative to graduating here with your classmates. But I will forewarn anyone thinking that it doesn't matter, schools do not look favourably on students expelled so close to graduation," the headmistress, Principal Ishiyama warned sternly. A few students nudged their friends jokingly in response to the statement.

"Firstly, there will be no alcohol allowed in the school tonight. Any student found with any alcohol, drunk or in possession of any other prohibited substances such as drugs will not be allowed to attend and may be subject to further punishment, depending on the circumstances," she resumed.

"Meaning if they're a trouble student or not," Sam muttered with a scowl.

"Next, you should uphold school policy and treat one another and faculty and other chaperones with respect," the principal continued, ignoring the whisperings around the room.

"So glad my parents aren't chaperoning tonight," Danny commented quietly. Sam giggled softly.

"Students must arrive at the school between six and eight o'clock tonight as you will all be locked in here until eight in the morning. There will be sleeping bags set up in a number of classrooms the location of which you will be given upon arrival here tonight. If you wish to bring a change of clothes, toiletries or any other items, you may bring them in a bag with your name clearly marked and leave it with a teacher at the front desk. Bags will be searched," the principal added.

"Wait, what if someone has to leave unexpectedly!?" Valerie shouted out from the seats.

"You may leave if you have a valid reason but you will not be allowed back inside," the principal answered calmly.

"Doesn't count if your best friend is half ghost," Tucker gloated quietly, grinning at Danny over Sam.

"And finally, I'd like to issue a formal goodbye as I won't be present tonight and in all likelihood won't see many of you until graduation. I am pleased to say I don't know many of you personally. For obvious reasons of course. And for those that I have met on numerous occasions, I wish you luck. I wish you all luck on your future endeavours. I hope that your time here at Casper High was enjoyable and that your time here will aid you throughout your lives. Have fun tonight, but not too much fun. Stay safe. And good luck," Principal Ishiyama announced with a warm smile. Mr Lancer and a few of the other teachers present encouraged the students to start clapping. Then they were dismissed. Their time attending lessons in Casper High was over. It was a surreal feeling. Better than summer break but somehow sad. This was it. No more high school.

Sam left Danny and Tucker a few minutes later, shouting for Danny to pick her up around half five. Danny nodded and called that he would be on time if she was. He grinned as his girlfriend stuck her tongue out at him before turning the corner out of sight. Yazmin and Eric joined Danny and Tucker a few minutes later.

"Where's Sam?" Yazmin asked.

"Running home to get ready, throw her mom's choice in the trash and then get ready again in what she decided on," Danny answered knowingly. Tucker sniggered.

"What are we gonna do?" Eric wondered. Danny and Tucker shrugged.

"Could do an early patrol around the city then I want to make sure Jazz is ready to take over for the night. You can come if you want," Danny replied with a shrug.

"I've got nothing better to do," Tucker muttered.

"Shouldn't you go find Ashley and arrange when you pick her up tonight," Danny pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"Not all of us are old school Danny. We're meeting at the door. We agreed about six when I asked her but I'll text her in a bit to double check," Tucker retorted. Danny rolled his eyes.

"I am not old fashioned," Danny protested.

"Danny, you were gonna give Valerie a _class_ ring. Face it dude, you're old fashioned. I don't have a problem with it, I think Sam likes it. But that's fact," Tucker reminded the halfa, ignoring the shocked expressions Yazmin and Eric had.

"Are you at least gonna get her a corsage?" Danny pressed, his tone obviously telling his friend he should.

"What's a corsage?" Tucker questioned, genuinely confused. Danny blinked at his friend before shaking his head.

"A special bracelet made out of flowers. It's tradition for the guy to get it for his date. Geez Tuck, don't you know any etiquette?" Danny explained exasperatedly.

"I'm not old fashioned Danny," Tucker quipped. Danny glared at his friend in annoyance.

They walked through the town together, stopping in a flower shop for Danny to pick up Sam's purple corsage and after a lot of encouragement, Tucker bought a ready-made white one for Ashley. Danny had tsked loudly that Tucker hadn't known what colour scheme Ashley was going to wear that night. Grumbling the whole way to Fenton Works, Tucker complained about the price of the corsage, loudly deciding that the thing was stupid.

"Girls are the only ones that care how they look for these things! Why do I have to care?" Tucker protested. Danny rolled his eyes as he pushed his front door open.

"Get over it Tuck. It's a one-time expense. You might impress Ashley enough that she finally lets you take her on a date," Danny pointed out. Tucker paused before considering the previously believed waste of money.

"You really think that this will mean that much to her?" Tucker wondered. Danny shrugged.

"You know I've never had much luck with girls. Paulina only went out with me because of that ghost amulet," Danny reminded his friend.

Danny ran upstairs and left both corsages in his room, safely away from ectoplasm and his clumsy father. Tucker dropped on to the couch and switched on the TV. Yazmin and Eric joined him.

"Hey guys, Danny out fighting ghosts?" Jazz greeted them as she came out of the kitchen.

"Actually he's upstairs leaving the corsages in his room. Jazz, you met your date at the door right? Did he get you a corsage?" Tucker asked, spinning around to look at the older girl over the back of the couch. Jazz frowned before nodding.

"Yeah. Brad did. But I'm pretty sure his mom bought it since he nearly left it in the car. Dad and Danny weren't happy that Brad didn't pick me up though. But it wasn't that big of a deal for me. I was only going to ensure I could understand the appeal for my age group. Brad ended up disappearing off with his friends and I was pretty bored all night," Jazz recalled. Tucker's face fell. He definitely owed Danny one. He wasn't gonna bother getting the corsage. He was starting to realise how bad that would have looked.

Danny hopped down the last step and grinned at his sister who frowned suspiciously.

"What do you want Danny?" Jazz asked.

"Want? I'm hurt! Can't a brother smile at his older sister when he gets home?" Danny exclaimed with forced hurt in his voice. Jazz raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. But I know that grin. You want something," Jazz answered. Danny sighed in defeat.

"Can you make sure mom and dad don't get into trouble tonight while I'm at the prom? I'll have my phone but please only call in an emergency. I told Sam that tonight was going to be ghost free. She even made me promise not to use my powers," Danny requested. Jazz rolled her eyes but nodded.

"Alright Danny. Will do. Anything I should know in particular?" Jazz agreed. She had always planned to take over Team Phantom's duties this evening. Her brother had earned a night off with his girlfriend. A real night off. Not a couple of hours someone covered for him so that he could go on a date that was usually interrupted. Jazz was half tempted to get the Plasmius Maximus from Vlad to remove any temptation. But she understood that if she did do that, she'd leave her brother defenceless if there was a ghost attack at the prom.

Danny shook his head as he frowned in thought.

"I stuffed Box Ghost into my thermos this morning between classes and I couldn't find Johnny and Kitty last night. They probably went back into the Ghost Zone. Skulker attacked yesterday. He usually only attacks once a week tops. You've read my ghost files and you know how to handle mom and dad and a thermos. I can't think of anything else. Anything in particular you want to ask me though?" Danny answered. Jazz shook her head. It was one night. She could handle it. And Amity Park could handle a few extra ghosts tonight as she didn't have a ghost sense like her sibling. Danny smiled.

"Tuck, you might want to go get changed soon. And text Ashley to double check the time. You should be there before her. It looks better," Danny advised. Tucker huffed loudly but obeyed his friend.

"Wait! The corsage!" Danny shouted after the techno-geek.

Grumbling, Tucker trudged up to Danny's room and grabbed the white flower bracelet before walking to his house.

"Why are you making him try so hard?" Jazz wondered. Danny grinned.

"Me and Sam are hoping prom turns into a relationship for Tucker. Might get more alone time together or at least get him off our backs all the time about what we're doing. Sam's been talking to Ashley, trying to make Tucker sound good. It's my job to make him look good," Danny revealed. Jazz laughed.

"Does he know that you two are conspiring to get him a girlfriend?" Jazz chuckled. Danny shook his head.

"Doubt it. Sam's been really discrete about it. Besides, I really don't think that Tucker's gonna get upset when he does figure it out," Danny replied.

 **Sneaky Danny.**

 **I remember leaving secondary school and I did feel a little sad to see the last day come. School just flew by. But at the same time it was exciting. So I tried to show that here.**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Don't forget to check out my website and my anniversary page. There's a link on my bio.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	29. Chapter 29

Yazmin and Eric waited on the couch for Danny. It was decided that they would walk to Sam's with the halfa and stick around long enough for Danny to get inside the door. Sam had practically begged the younger halfas that morning. Danny returned to the living room from his room almost an hour after disappearing off to shower and get ready. He had a bag with a change of clothes with him, the corsage he got Sam safely nestled on the top in its case. He was wearing a dark navy suit with a dark purple tie he got to match Sam's dress. He hadn't seen the dress yet but he knew Sam well enough to know it would be purple or at least something dark. He had tried unsuccessfully to tame his wild, usually windswept hair but no matter how much gel he used it wouldn't flatten. He knew Sam didn't care about his hair and he didn't really either. But this was his one chance to impress Sam's parents. If he could make a good impression tonight and be the best boyfriend possible, then Pamela and Jeremy Manson might, well they'd never like him, he was a Fenton. But they might at least hate him less.

Jazz laughed at Danny's hair as he tried to flatten it again with his hand.

"Grr! It won't stay down!" Danny complained angrily.

"Since when do you care about your hair," Jazz chuckled.

"I don't. But I know Mr and Mrs Manson will. The hair's more for them than for the prom," Danny admitted as he scowled at his unyielding hairstyle.

"That's it! I've had it. I know I promised but I'm icing it," Danny snapped, staring into the hall mirror as he activated his ghost powers and froze his hair into a neater hairstyle.

"Won't you get brain freeze or something?" Yazmin pointed out, slightly concerned for the older halfa.

"Ghosts aren't affected by their own powers. They might get the wind knocked out of them if they're hit hard enough by it, but it won't hurt them as it would another person or ghost," Jazz informed the girl.

"Besides, I don't really get cold since I activated my ice powers. Jazz, it does look like gel right?" Danny asked worriedly, turning to his sister so she could consider the technique. She nodded.

"Yeah. A lot of it. But yeah, it can pass for gel. Just don't let anyone touch it," Jazz confirmed. Danny smiled and turned back to the mirror before scowling at a cowlick on the side of his head. Jazz bit back another laugh as her brother wrestled with the rebellious lock of hair.

"I can't wait to see you on your wedding day if you're like this for prom," Jazz remarked amused. Danny shot her a quick glare before resuming to tame his hair.

"There's my handsome young man!" Maddie exclaimed happily. Danny jumped violently and quickly dismissed his ice powers. Glowing blue eyes might be noticed and cause problems.

"Wow son. You look really different. What's with the hair?" Jack commented.

"I gelled it. Does it look okay?" Danny replied.

"Of course sweetie. But you missed a bit here," Maddie reassured him and reached over to help fix the rebellious lock. Danny ducked away from her hand.

"I know mom. I'm dealing with it. Don't mess it up," Danny protested quickly. Maddie withdrew her hand with an amused smirk.

"So why did you gel it? You don't usually bother to comb it," Jack pointed out perplexed.

"Jack, Danny's making an effort for prom. Don't tell him off," Maddie scolded her husband.

"Well actually, I'm trying to make Sam's parents like me more," Danny confessed as he carefully tucked the stray hair behind a frozen lock. Maddie sighed and shook her head.

"Danny, there's time if you want to wash that out. Go however you want to go. You shouldn't have to change your appearance for Sam's parents to like you," Maddie suggested. Danny shook his head.

"I've already done it. It took ages and a lot of gel to get it to this point. I'm not just gonna wash it off. I really want Sam's parents to like me more," Danny declined turning to his mother, finally having tamed his hairstyle.

Maddie smiled at him and straightened his tie for him and brushed the creases out of his padded shoulders. He was about her height now and still growing. The woman marvelled at how fast her son had grown into the man standing in front of her.

"You look very handsome sweetheart. You have fun tonight," Maddie muttered warmly. Danny smirked at her and nodded.

"Thanks mom. I'd better go if I want to be there in time," Danny remarked, gesturing to the door. Yazmin and Eric got to their feet, ready to go.

"Wait, Danny, we got to have pictures! You only go to prom once," Maddie exclaimed and brandished a camera from her belt. Danny groaned.

"This is for Sam's parents. Not for pictures," Danny complained referencing his hair. Maddie chuckled at her son before getting him to stand in front of the front door and snapped a few pictures of him.

"Now, show us the corsage," she ordered her son. Danny groaned reluctantly. He knew it was safe in his bag. He didn't want to risk taking out before he got to Sam's.

Jazz took pity on her brother and gently eased the camera out of her mother's hands.

"Why don't you two get into the picture and then I'll drive Danny and Yazmin and Eric over. I can take pictures of Sam for you guys," Jazz offered, she smiled at the grateful look her brother flashed at her. She had heard of the ban Pamela had placed on Danny in her home. It was unfair really that he wasn't allowed in the house, even tonight without supervision. She could read between the lines enough to deduce what must have happened and the resulting misunderstanding.

"What about you Jazzy-pants? Eric, would you mind?" Jack interjected and held a hand out for Jazz to join the family. Eric agreed easily and snapped a few pictures of the family. It was nice to see Maddie and Jack's care and love for Danny after being present after the road accident a few days ago.

"Alright, can we go now? I promised to be there for half five," Danny pressed.

"Why so early?" Jazz questioned as they stepped out of the house, Danny carrying his bag carefully.

"Sam probably wants to escape as early as possible. You know how much her and Mrs Manson argue about fashion. At least if I'm early, she can leave as soon as she's ready," Danny answered. Jazz nodded as she unlocked her blue convertible, the top already up. Yazmin and Eric clambered into the back without question and Danny got in the front beside his sister.

"By the way Danny, might want to touch up your hair. Must be a ghost thing stopping it from staying down," Jazz informed him as she put the key in the ignition. Danny pulled down the passenger visor and peered into the mirror before groaning in annoyance. He set to work with his ice powers to put the hair back in place.

"What are you two going to do tonight?" Jazz called over her shoulder, ignoring her brother's angry mutterings as he cursed his rebellious hair.

"We were just gonna hang out at Sam's. There's plenty to do between the bowling alley and the home cinema and so on. At least our powers have settled back down again. They're not as uncontrollable," Yazmin answered.

"Do you still have that weird feeling in your cores?" Danny wondered as his eyes pulsed bright blue in his annoyance as he froze his hair in place with more force than probably advisable.

"That kind of started going away this morning," Eric admitted.

"That's good. I remember that feeling being annoying after a while," Danny remarked. Eric and Yazmin nodded in agreement.

"I'm assuming it's some halfa thing you three are talking about," Jazz muttered as she slowed to a stop at a red traffic light.

"It's just a weird feeling that you get when your core's settling down when it's activated or formed. Don't worry. Jazz, better?" Danny told her, turning for her to see his hair. She nodded.

"Yep, much," Jazz confirmed.

"Thanks," Danny breathed with relief. Jazz smiled at her brother as the light turned green.

Jazz pulled up in front of the Manson residence and they all hopped out of the car. Danny grabbed the corsage he bought for Sam and made his way up the steps. He took a deep measured breath before ringing the doorbell. Jazz, Yazmin and Eric hovered just behind him. Jeremy opened the door and Danny resisted the urge to sigh with relief. Jeremy was a lot easier to deal with than Pamela.

"Hello Mr Manson, I'm here to pick up Sam. Is she ready?" Danny greeted the man politely. Jeremy glanced at the others behind Danny before shaking his head.

"No. Not yet. You're early. Sammy said you'd be here just before six," Jeremy commented. Danny blinked before biting back a grin. Sam was helping him look good for her parents. She knew that he hated how much her parents disliked him.

"I thought it would be best to be here with plenty of time in case there was a ghost attack or something. That and I planned to walk and Jazz offered to drive instead," Danny replied, following on from Sam's small lie.

Jeremy nodded to Jazz.

"Good evening Jazz. How has college been? You're studying psychology correct?" Jeremy greeted the older girl as the four stepped inside. Danny, knowing he wasn't necessarily allowed in the house without supervision, hovered close to the door. Yazmin and Eric walked off and into the living room, their job was done and they sensed that Jazz came to help her brother also. Danny tuned out Jazz's conversation with Jeremy. He had heard most of it already and psychology didn't excite him. Suddenly the sound of heels clicking came down the stairs and Danny turned to the noise. Pamela Manson stepped into the hall and ran an appraising eye over him. He hardly dared to breathe as he waited for her verdict.

"Did you buy the corsage yourself?" Pamela asked. Danny gave a quick nod, paranoid about disrupting his frozen hair.

"I did. Collected it today after school. Don't worry, I kept it away from any ghost stuff," Danny answered, silently berating himself for mentioning ghosts. Pamela clacked closer to Danny and surveyed Danny again before sniffing.

"I suppose you have made an effort tonight," she decided before she walked off into the kitchen. Danny allowed himself the smallest smirk of triumph. It may not have seemed much, but Pamela hadn't made a single negative comment about him. She must approve!

Jazz smiled for her brother before resuming her conversation with Jeremy, keeping the man distracted from Danny so he couldn't start a conversation with the halfa. Almost fifteen minutes later and Pamela had returned from the kitchen, offering refreshments for her guests. Danny declined politely with a careful smile. Yazmin and Eric decided to take the woman up on her offer, to help out Danny. The longer the woman was doing other things, then she couldn't interact with Danny. However she returned and stood in front of Danny and started a conversation.

"So, Danny. What are your plans after graduation?" Pamela prompted, her eyes cold and judgmental.

"Well, I don't have plans for the summer yet but I'm thinking of looking for a job. As for college, I'd like to get into astrophysics. Or maybe engineering," Danny answered warily. He didn't know what she expected from him. One wrong word and she might throw him out on to the doorstep to wait for Sam.

"After college. What are your aspirations? Where do you see yourself?" Pamela pressed. Danny swallowed his nerves imperceptibly.

"My dream job would be to become an astronaut but realistically it's not very likely to happen. They only take so many people into their programmes every so often. But I'd like to keep my options open. At least until I know for certain which course I do," Danny replied carefully.

"What are your plans for tonight?" Pamela inquired. Danny blinked in surprise at the random question.

"I don't think I understand what you're asking Mrs Manson. I'm planning to take Sam to prom. The school is going to lock us in overnight and I'll bring her home tomorrow," Danny answered carefully. Pamela narrowed her eyes.

"How do I know that you won't find yourself sleeping in the wrong bed again tonight?" Pamela accused.

"Mrs Manson! I don't like what you're insinuating about my brother," Jazz interjected sharply before Danny could respond. She had been keeping an eye on her brother's conversation with Pamela while talking with Jeremy. Pamela frowned at Danny and glanced at Jazz.

"I don't think you are aware of what happened last week," Pamela began.

"Actually I am. My brother is not that kind of person Mrs Manson. He respects women, especially Sam. In fact he's almost old fashioned in how he approaches her. He has made a special effort tonight to try and show you that he's worthy to be Sam's boyfriend. Not for Sam. For you! The least you could do is be civil to him and not throw underhand accusations at him," Jazz retorted sternly. Pamela blinked and turned her cold judgemental gaze on Jazz. Thankfully the argument was interrupted by Sam's grandmother exiting the elevator under the staircase.

"Give the boy a break Pamela. Besides, Sam will be down in a minute," the elderly woman commanded with surprising strength in her words. Danny smiled gratefully at the elderly woman trundling along on a scooter. At least he had one other ally in this house other than his girlfriend.

 **Yeah, Pamela really doesn't approve of Danny as Sam's boyfriend.**

 **Let me know what you think so far of the story.**

 **Make sure to cast your vote for your favourite stories I've written. The winners will get a special one-shot or story, depending on the winners. There's a link in my bio to my website.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	30. Chapter 30

Danny gasped breathlessly as Sam appeared on the stairs, walking down the steps with surprising grace in heels. They weren't stilettos but Sam never wore any kind of heeled shoe. Her dress hugged her figure, complimenting her petite form wonderfully. She had chosen a sleek, purple dress with a black sash around her waist and black lace on the bodice to her neckline. There was a stylish slit in the skirt that went up to her knee, showing off her toned, pale legs. She had put in hair extensions and used the extra hair to make a small tight black plait at the back while the rest of her hair trailed down her back and over her slim shoulders. She had her spider back pack over one shoulder, clashing with the sight but somehow it made her more normal. Her amethyst eyes were surrounded with smoky black and purple eyeshadow, mascara making her full eyelashes impossibly long. She was wearing her favourite perfume which clung to her in an intoxicating cloud. She stopped beside her boyfriend and smirked at his dumbfound expression.

"Is that for me?" she asked, successfully snapping him out of his stupor.

"Yeah. I er I don't really know how to put one on," he admitted as he took the corsage out of the case with utmost care. Sam chuckled and handed it to her mother to put on her wrist for her. Pamela wordlessly complied, smiling warmly at her daughter.

"It's a nice corsage isn't it mom. I didn't even have to tell Danny the colour of the dress I was going to wear tonight," Sam remarked, winking at her boyfriend conspiratorially. He smiled gratefully at her. Pamela spared the halfa a glance before admitting that the corsage did match the dress well. Once the corsage was on, Sam took the opportunity to look at the small flower arrangement for herself. She knew that her boyfriend would have picked tastefully, keeping in mind her preferences. And he didn't disappoint her.

"Pictures?" Jazz announced and lifted Maddie's camera. Danny sighed but knew he couldn't deny his sister or Sam's parents. Pamela positioned her daughter in front of the front door first and she and Jazz took a few pictures. Then Jazz pushed Danny into the frame and he stood awkwardly beside Sam, reluctant to put his arm around her in front of Pamela. A few minutes later both women had plenty of pictures of the couple.

"I'll drive you two to the school. Unless you had other plans?" Jazz offered, glancing around at the others.

"You can always take our car Sammikins. You'll have to wait for the driver to get here though," Pamela suggested, referencing their expensive, first class automobile.

"I think I'd prefer to be driven by Jazz," Sam answered. Jazz smiled and Danny took Sam's bag to carry to the car.

Once outside, Jazz got into her car.

"I thought we were gonna fly," Sam reminded her boyfriend.

"We were. But Jazz offered and I thought you wanted to keep tonight ghost free," Danny confirmed as he opened the car door for Sam and dropped her bag next his in the front passenger foot well. He then slid into the back with Sam, careful not to sit on her dress by accident.

"What is up with your hair?" Sam asked, confident her parents weren't going to eavesdrop on them now that they were in the car.

"I tried to gel it but that didn't work. So I had to resort to ice. I'll get rid of it before we get to the school," Danny explained. Sam laughed.

"You froze your head to impress my parents!" Sam exclaimed amused. Danny blushed as he carefully started phasing the ice shards out of his hair and tossed them out the car window as Jazz drove towards the school.

"I'm getting some real pictures when we get there," Jazz called over her shoulder.

"Jazz! No. I just got rid of the ice. What are mom and dad gonna say when they see my hair isn't gelled?" Danny protested firmly.

"I'll just say that Sam made you wash it out at hers. And Sam's parents aren't gonna see these pictures in all likelihood and if they do, I can just say that you combed the gel out when we got to the school at Sam's insistence. Don't worry little brother, I gotcha covered," Jazz retorted calmly.

"Sure blame me," Sam grumbled.

"Mom and dad tried to convince Danny to wash the "gel" out at home before we left. I can add that we ganged up on him," Jazz added, glancing at the Goth in her rear view mirror. Sam shrugged.

"How's operation Tucker going? Do you know?" Sam asked Danny. Danny smirked.

"I convinced him to get a corsage, they had a white one readymade thankfully. And I told him to get to the school extra early and made sure he texted Ashley this afternoon to make sure he knew the right time. We'll confiscate the tech when we get there," Danny reported, the couple having found out what colour dress Ashley was going to wear in order to manipulate their friend into making the best choices to impress his date.

"You're taking his tech?" Jazz interjected surprised.

"We'll leave him with his phone and maybe his PDA in case Ashley ditches him or he actually needs it. But the rest has to go. Otherwise he'll just be on those all night and ignore Ashley. You have no idea how long he can talk and demonstrate his tech," Sam elaborated.

"I think the record was five hours and twenty three minutes. He had to stop to go to the bathroom," Danny recalled. Jazz laughed thinking her brother was joking before she saw that Sam was scowling in remembrance.

"Never ask him about his tech. It's almost as bad as asking your dad about ghosts," Sam warned seriously.

"What about your end?" Danny wondered.

"Well I told Ashley to steer clear as much as possible of tech talk. She's not that much into it so it shouldn't come up unless they're really stuck for conversation. She's not ready for obsessive techno-geek Tuck yet. I also offered for us to hang around them for the first half hour or so to ease them into their night," Sam informed her boyfriend. Danny nodded in understanding. Before long Jazz pulled into the school car park and found a spot. Jazz convinced Danny to stand beside Sam to get a few proper pictures of the couple. Danny sighed and complied, casually slipping an arm around Sam's waist. Then he grabbed his and Sam's bags and the trio walked towards the gym doors, following other prom goers making their way to the location.

"Hey Tucker!" Danny shouted as he spotted his friend waiting beside the gym doors. He was wearing a black suit with a gold tie, which Danny and Sam convinced him to buy, with his overnight bag on the ground by his feet. His signature beret was absent, as was any headwear. His large glasses reflected the bright light from his PDA screen as he played a game to occupy himself while he waited for either his friends or Ashley. The techno-geek looked up, casually slipping his PDA into his suit jacket pocket and gave a low whistle.

"Looking good Sam," he complimented.

"Thanks Tucker. Hand over your tech," Sam retorted and held out a ready hand.

"Huh?" Tucker intelligently replied.

"You heard her Tuck. We're confiscating everything but your phone. Come on, hand it over," Danny agreed, also holding out a hand.

"No. What if I need it?" Tucker protested.

"Then you can come over to us. You're not going to bore Ashley all night with your obsessive fixation of tech or by ignoring her. Come on, we don't have all night," Sam answered.

"I'm not gonna do that," Tucker retorted sharply, attracting a few looks.

"Tuck, don't make me force you," Danny growled, flashing his eyes green in warning. Tucker soundlessly protested before hanging his head in defeat and digging his hand into his pocket and handed his PDA to the halfa.

"And the rest. Come on Tuck, we know how much stuff you cart around everywhere," Danny encouraged, pocketing the PDA in his own pocket. Tucker grumbled under his breath as he turned out all his pockets and handed the technology over to Sam who put it all in her bag for safe keeping.

"That wasn't so hard," Sam decided with a smile. Tucker folded his arms in annoyance and huffed angrily.

"Okay, now that's done. Come on you three, group picture, Sam in the middle," Jazz ordered and lifted up her camera. Tucker frowned but complied. Danny scowled at his sister.

"What is with you and that thing?" he complained but stepped beside his girlfriend and plastered on a grin. The flash temporarily blinded the teens as Jazz took a couple of pictures.

"Perfect. I'll get one more picture of you three and Ashley and then I'll go. And don't worry Danny, I've got everything under control. Promise," Jazz told her brother confidently. Danny smiled gratefully.

Almost ten minutes later, Ashley arrived with her father. Tucker's jaw dropped. Ashley was usually an unassuming girl with geeky glasses and her brown hair tied back in a ponytail. Not tonight. Tonight she had her long brown hair styled into long loose curls that framed her face. Her glasses were absent, replaced with contact lenses. She was wearing a long white dress with gold swirls embroidered and a golden shawl over her shoulders. Danny smirked and elbowed his friend in the ribs. Tucker blinked and scrambled to get the white corsage out of his bag.

"You must be Tucker," Ashley's father assumed and held out a hand to the techno-geek.

"Yes. Here," Tucker squeaked and handed Ashley the corsage. She blinked in surprise.

"Oh wow. I wasn't expecting this. Help me put it on?" Ashley exclaimed. Danny and Sam shared a conspirators' smirk of triumph. Tucker fumbled uncertainly as he attached the flower bracelet on Ashley's wrist.

"You seem like a decent young man Tucker. You take care of my Ashley tonight, you hear," Ashley's father ordered sternly, holding a hand out to the techno-geek again. Tucker smiled nervously and took the man's hand.

"Thank you sir. I will," Tucker replied. Ashley's father nodded and held up a camera.

"My wife ordered me to take pictures of you two," he informed them and Ashley grabbed Tucker's arm happily, pressing against him with a wide grin. Tucker smirked and puffed his chest out proudly. Jazz then asked to have a picture of both couples together. Once the pictures were taken, Jazz and Ashley's father made their leave.

"Shall we go inside?" Sam suggested.

"Yeah, it's a bit cold out here," Ashley agreed, holding her overnight bag as the girls led the way to the sign-in desk. Danny scooped up his and Sam's bags and followed with Tucker.

Tucker suddenly frowned and grabbed Danny's arm while their dates signed in.

"You set this up didn't you. You told me to get this tie and buy that corsage," Tucker hissed in realisation. Danny laughed.

"Took you long enough Tuck. You're welcome," Danny retorted as he handed his and Sam's bags over to the teacher behind the desk and scrawled his name on the sign-in sheet. He joined Sam and Ashley as they complimented each other's outfits.

"You look so different with long hair," Ashley remarked. Sam smirked.

"Thanks. I wanted to do something crazy for prom. You look so pretty without glasses. Don't you think Danny?" Sam returned, glancing at her boyfriend.

"Can't answer that one. You'll get jealous," Danny joked with a kind smile at Ashley. The girl beamed while Sam playfully whacked Danny's padded shoulder. Tucker joined them a few minutes later and the foursome headed into the gym.

Unseen and unheard, Eric and Yazmin snuck into the school in their human forms. They didn't want to trigger Danny's ghost sense and ruin his night. But they needed to be ready to encourage him to tell Valerie his secret. His future depended on it.

 **Prom is here. I have to admit I loved writing Sam and Danny ganging up against Tucker to make the techno-geek look better.**

 **Let me know what you guys think though.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	31. Chapter 31

As promised Danny and Sam spent the first half hour with Tucker and Ashley. They stood beside the punch bowl, sipping the sweet liquid, as the popular crowd arrived. Dash decked out in a tuxedo and Paulina in the most outlandish and ridiculously pink dress imaginable. Star arrived in a blue dress with her date, Kwan in a garish blue suit he loudly claimed to have been his dad's and that he was coerced into wearing it. Valerie followed her friend in a beautiful red dress, arm in arm with Star's cousin Phil, who sported a broad grin and a dark suit with matching tie.

"Danny! Sam, Tucker! This is Phil, Star's cousin. Phil, this is Danny, his girlfriend Sam and Tucker. That's Ashley," Valerie introduced them all, having spotted them easily and made her way over. Danny and Tucker shook hands with Phil and exchanged a few pleasantries before Valerie and Phil got called away by Star. The music started almost twenty minutes later and Ashley convinced Tucker to dance with her. Sam, adamant to keep her promise, dragged Danny along after them. The next hour and a half were lost to the dance floor, only disco tracks having been played.

"Can we take a break Danny?" Sam requested. Danny nodded and they made their way through the mass of dancing teens to a few tables and chairs along the walls.

"Sorry Danny. But these heels are killing me. I'm starting to miss my boots," Sam confessed, yanking off the high heels as soon as they sat down. Danny smirked.

"Don't worry about it Sam. I'm just glad I get to spend tonight with you. We've hardly spent any time together recently," Danny assured her.

"What are you talking about? We hung out plenty," Sam corrected with confusion.

"No. We hung out with Tucker and Eric and Yazmin. I'm talking about some quality alone time together. For the last week or so, so much has happened that there hasn't been enough time for us to just you know be together. First Eric and Yazmin turning up, then the whole thing with your mom and I got hurt. I'm just glad that we have tonight," Danny explained. Sam smiled in understanding. She pecked him on the cheek and before long Sam moved to Danny's lap and they were kissing each other, dancing and sore feet forgotten for the time being.

While the couple were distracted, a man walked over to them with dark hair and dark eyes in a suit. He coughed loudly and Sam and Danny pulled apart from each other, blushing bright red.

"I'm sorry, Mr Fenton. There was an issue with your bag. Could you come with me please?" the man requested. Danny blinked in surprise.

"What kind of problem?" he wondered. He had only put clothes in his bag and his toothbrush. Tucker agreed to bring the toothpaste and that they'd share. Why would there be a problem?

"Could you come with me please?" the man insisted and gestured to the door into the school across the room.

"Go ahead Danny. I'll wait here," Sam interjected helpfully.

"You sure?" Danny asked. Sam smirked and jerked her head towards the door, easily sliding off her boyfriend's lap and into a nearby chair. Danny nodded and got to his feet.

"Lead the way," Danny prompted. He didn't recognise the man but that didn't mean he wasn't a parent chaperoning or something. The man nodded and marched towards the door, glancing back to ensure Danny was following often.

Danny raised an eyebrow. The man opened the door and waited for Danny to go through first before following.

"Turn into the next classroom. I left your bag there," the man instructed. Danny frowned. Suddenly he realised something. How had this man known who he was? He hadn't asked if he had the right teen. He had known. And this man wasn't a familiar face in Casper High. Danny reached out for his powers, ready for trouble. He hadn't gotten a good look at the man's eyes. The man might have been overshadowed. It wouldn't be the first time ghosts used overshadowing to get close to him. He obeyed the man's instructions though. He scowled suspiciously as he saw an empty classroom, no bag in sight.

"My bag isn't here," Danny stated. He spun around as the door clicked. The man had locked the classroom door.

"I know. I'm going to kill you before you destroy everything for my ancestor," the man snarled, pulling a high-tech ghost weapon out from his pocket and pointed it at Danny.

Danny gulped nervously. The man was blocking the door. The windows in the school didn't open wide as a safety precaution. The only way he was going to escape was by using his powers or to convince this man he was wrong.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I think you might have the wrong guy. So, why don't you unlock that door and we'll forget this happened," Danny suggested calmly, keeping his nervousness hidden carefully, the hopeful thought that this was a prank from Dash occurring to him. The man advanced on Danny, the halfa backed away uneasily.

"I have the right person. Daniel Fenton. Also known as Danny Phantom. Second half-ghost in existence. The one responsible for destroying my ancestor's life," the man retorted firmly. Danny blinked. Ancestor. The man must be a time traveller! But that would mean… Clockwork.

"Alright Clockwork. Good joke but enough's enough," Danny called nervously as he bumped into the cupboards at the back of the classroom.

"Clockwork's gone. I destroyed him," the man informed the halfa.

Danny frowned in confusion. Clockwork was gone. Wait, that must have been the Clockwork in his time. Danny yelped in alarm as the man fired his weapon and Danny ducked instinctively. If this man was from the future and knew his secret, there was no point playing dumb Danny decided and phased through the wall into the next door classroom. Danny sprinted out of the classroom and charged down the corridor. The school had cameras. He had to find a blind spot to change forms and some distance from the person trying to kill him would be good too. Tucker could do damage control later but he'd prefer not to leave too much evidence, just in case. He saw the gym doors. The locker room showers were a blind spot. He gasped and dared to glance back as he heard the man chasing after him, a jet sled under his feet and wearing a red and black jumpsuit. Danny's eyes widened in alarm as a blast sped towards him. He had no time to dodge. It was going to hit.

The blast hit him in the back and thrust him through the gym doors. The resulting slam and involuntary cry of pain, attracted the attention of everyone at the prom. The DJ stopped the music and Sam sprinted barefooted to his side.

"Danny!?" she exclaimed in surprise. Danny collected himself as quickly as possible, used to being hit by ghost rays. The only difference was the sting lingering at the impact site, a sting only resulted from getting hit by anti-ghost tech. Sam helped him to his feet. Danny's head snapped to the gym doors, now hanging wide open as the man appeared on his jet sled. The man pointed another gun, this time at Danny's head. Danny's eyes widened again in fear as he saw light gathering. He pushed Sam out of danger and dropped to the ground as the blast was fired. The staring teens screamed and started to stampede to safety. Tucker, Valerie and Ashley were caught up in the flow of the crowd, Tucker and Valerie tried to wrestle the frighten teens to get back to Sam and Danny.

Danny scrambled to his feet and gritted his teeth. He needed a safe spot to change and he needed to protect Sam. He knew his girlfriend. And she wouldn't leave until she knew he would be okay. The man scowled.

"I expected more," the man muttered. Danny frowned, offended.

"How did I wreck your ancestor's life!?" Danny snapped. He wanted to know why this psycho wanted him dead.

"You got her father fired! You ruined her social standing! You lied to her for years. Used her for years. And when she finally put you down! She gets imprisoned for the rest of her life. She didn't deserve that!" the man exploded. Danny frowned in confusion.

"So you're gonna kill me for something that hasn't happened yet," Danny pointed out angrily.

"But it has happened," the man corrected furiously. Danny's eyes widened in horrified realisation. Valerie. Valerie Gray. He ruined her life. According to her anyway. He would admit that he did play a part but he didn't ruin her life completely.

"Valerie. Valerie's your ancestor," Danny gasped.

"Don't say her name! You don't get to speak her name!" the man growled sharply as he fired another shot at Danny's head.

Danny spun away from the attack before straightening.

"Let me get this straight. I did not ruin Valerie's life. Technically, that was Cujo. And he's just a dog that wanted to get his squeaky toy back. As for lying, yes I have lied. But I lie to almost everyone. As for manipulating her, I have _never_ done that. I never will. I'm not that kind of person," Danny retorted. Sam edged away from the man attacking Danny and closed her hand around a plastic cup stack beside a nearly empty punch bowl. She scooped up the cups and tossed them at the man. Danny grabbed the opportunity while the hunter was distracted to lunge at him, knocking him off his jet sled.

The hunter and teen grappled with each other to get the upper hand in the fight. The hunter used his larger size and weight to pin Danny on the ground.

"No! Danny!" Sam screamed fearfully as the hunter pulled out a glowing green knife and thrust it down towards Danny's head. Danny squeezed his eyes shut in concentration and used his ghost energy to form the smallest, strongest shield he had ever formed around his head, halting the knife before it could hurt him. The hunter blinked in surprise. Danny used the surprise to his advantage and kicked the man off of him, rolling away and jumping to his feet, the shield dissipating as he went.

"Impressive. I've not seen a halfa do that before," the man commented. Danny raised an eyebrow. This hunter spoke like he had hunted and killed halfas before. Danny took a deep breath. This man wanted him dead. But he was still human. He had to be firmer than he was with Valerie. This man knew his secret and seemed relentless. Running wasn't going to work. He dug his hand into to his pocket and pulled out Tucker's PDA.

"Sam, give Tuck his tech," Danny ordered and tossed the device to his girlfriend, knowing she'd catch it. Sam glanced between Danny and the hunter but obeyed, sprinting barefoot out of the gym. Danny rolled his shoulders, the sting in his back gradually fading.

"How many halfas have you killed?" Danny growled. He understood what that had to mean. He would one day have children. Maybe Danielle would have children. And this man hunted down those children and further descendants. Hunted them and killed them. And Danny was protective of his family.

"I have killed two. But I followed another two here," the hunter admitted unapologetically. Danny blinked in surprise before a blast of green and another of purple hit a rippling blue shield which erected itself around the hunter just in time from the gym door into the school. Danny spun around to see Eric and Yazmin. He gasped. They didn't exist. They lied about their pasts. They were born halfas. They were his descendants!

 **The secret is out!**

 **Just a point, over the years, the ghost energy passed through Danny's genes has reduced to the point where Yazmin and Eric's cores weren't energised. Therefore, Danny is more powerful than any halfa this Phantom hunter has ever faced and more powerful than most of the halfas the hunter's ancestors fought. Just wanted to clear that up.**

 **Let me know what you think.**

 **Don't forget to check out my anniversary page on my website and take part in the polls there. There's a link in my bio.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	32. Chapter 32

The Phantom hunter took his chance to attack Danny now that the halfa was distracted. Eric shouted a warning and Yazmin scowled in concentration to form a shield around the older teen. Danny turned just in time to see a blast of blue energy hit the rippling purple shield around him. The shield shattered but did its job. Danny shook his head.

"You can sort that out later Fenton. Focus on now," he hissed to himself. He squared his shoulders and faced the hunter again.

"How did you get here? Clockwork would never have let you follow us," Eric shouted. They hadn't been prepared to have to protect Danny from a Phantom hunter. Let alone the one responsible for forcing Eric on the run.

"That ghost scum is gone," the hunter retorted. Danny blasted the blue shield protecting the man with a green ghost ray.

"Watch your mouth. That's a personal friend," Danny snarled. The hunter scowled.

"I don't much care for your allies Phantom," the hunter pointed out.

Suddenly the Red Huntress charged into the room and stopped in between Danny and the hunter.

"Back off punk! I don't care if you're human, you don't hurt him," Valerie threatened angrily. Danny blinked in surprise. He glanced at Eric and Yazmin who were eyeing Valerie with barely disguised suspicion. He turned back to the hunter. He was hesitating. Danny knew why. Hurting Valerie put his lineage in danger. The Phantom hunter tapped a button on his gauntlet and a gun rose out of his shoulder.

"I'm sorry to do this to you," he muttered before firing a sticky glob of pink stuff that hit Valerie and stuck her to the wall behind Danny.

Danny scowled at the Phantom hunter. He only had one choice. He had to fight. But Fenton couldn't fight. Which meant he had to reveal who he was. He glanced at Valerie. He trusted that she would forgive him. She had shown kindness to his ghost half recently. She was understandably angry at Vlad but she hadn't done anything drastic yet. Against his better judgement, despite what the hunter from the future had told him… he trusted Valerie.

"Valerie, I promise, I'll explain. But I don't have time right now. Try not to freak out," Danny announced. Eric and Yazmin gasped in realisation.

Danny turned to the Phantom hunter. He rose to his full height and plastered on his game face.

"This is one halfa you are not going to defeat. No one hurts my family," Danny growled protectively and a white ring of light appeared around his waist. His burnt and rumpled suit changed into his iconic black and white jumpsuit, his symbol sitting proudly on his chest. His black hair turned white and his blue eyes switched to neon green.

"I defeated the most powerful ghost in existence. I can stop a ghost hunter," Danny declared firmly, charging his hands with green energy. Ice was off the table if he wanted to avoid hurting the human. Unless he was using it to disable a weapon or indirectly.

Valerie gaped at Danny. Her friend Danny Fenton. The boy that always ran away from ghosts. The boy she dumped to protect. He was the ghost that ruined her life. The one she gave a second chance. She couldn't believe her eyes. Eric and Yazmin shared a look before they too changed forms. The hunter smirked and pulled out a metal rod, flipping a switch to extend the double sided light sabre-like staff. Danny raised an eyebrow.

"That looks like Fenton tech," he observed suspiciously.

"That's the thing that killed my dad!" Eric warned. Danny glanced at the teen, nodding in understanding.

Danny charged forwards unexpectedly, forming an icy construct into a staff of his own, dispelling his own ghost energy. The hunter swept his staff out and Danny blocked the hit. The hunter grunted under the strain. Danny narrowed his green eyes and kicked the hunter's leg, forcing the man to his knees. Danny then jumped back and formed a shield around the man. The Phantom hunter growled in annoyance and pulled out a gun and fired it at the shield. Danny groaned as he felt the shield nearly shatter under the strain.

"He's equipped with the best anti-ghost tech available. He has a gun that can shred ghosts. Be careful Danny!" Eric interjected worriedly. Danny gave a distracted nod. He surveyed his opponent.

"Yazmin! I need you to use your shadows to keep him down. When I count down, fire at him and I'll drop my shield!" Danny ordered.

Yazmin bit her lip worriedly before nodding with determination. Her green eyes darkened with swirling black energy and the shadows in the room shivered. Valerie gasped in alarm and wrestled against her sticky restraints. Yazmin breathed a deep sigh and with a shout thrust the shadows forward towards the Phantom hunter. Danny saw the attack and dropped his shield just in time and rolled to the side, having not had the time to count for the female halfa. The shadows melted around the hunter and fused with the ground, stopping the man from moving. Danny straightened and walked calmly to Valerie, turning his back confident that the shadows would hold. He scanned the pink gloppy substance before placing a hand on Valerie's shoulder and simply phasing her out.

"How are you doing?" Danny asked her. Valerie blinked, shocked by what just happened.

"You… you're a halfa," she whispered. Danny nodded.

"I am. I never meant you any harm. I promise you that," Danny confirmed.

"Who… who is that? Why did he attack you? Human you," Valerie inquired shakily. Danny bit his lip and glanced at the trapped hunter. He shook his head coming to a decision. Valerie didn't need to know that this man was her descendant. She didn't need to know that in the future, hopefully one that wouldn't happen now, she killed him.

"You don't need to worry about that. He knew who I am and wants me dead. That's all you need to know," Danny answered. Valerie raised an eyebrow, visible through her tinted visor, but she didn't argue.

"I tried to kill you," Valerie mumbled in disbelief before pushing herself away from Danny's supporting arm in horror.

"I tried to _kill_ you!" she exclaimed, realising exactly what those words truly meant.

"Don't worry about it. My parents try to kill me all the time. Sometimes without realising it. I don't hold it against you," Danny assured her.

Suddenly there was a scream of rage and Danny and Valerie turned to see that the Phantom hunter had freed himself somehow from the sticky shadows and was charging at Danny with an anti-ghost dagger raised ready to stab Danny.

"No!" Eric shouted fearfully and sprinted in between Danny and the hunter, pushing his ancestor out of harm's way. The knife stabbed into Eric's stomach and the halfa collapsed to the ground. Danny gaped in shock before his green eyes pulsed brightly with anger. The hunter growled in frustration before pulling a gun out of his belt and pointed it at Danny. Valerie dropped to her knees beside Eric worriedly. Danny jumped into the air as the gun fired, missing the teen.

He duplicated and sent his duplicate to Eric's side. His original charged through the air towards the Phantom hunter. Danny's duplicate quickly examined the injured halfa, Yazmin dropped to her knees beside Danny's duplicate.

"Can you help him?" she asked fearfully.

"Val, do you know any first aid?" Danny's duplicate inquired seriously. Valerie shook her head.

"I've never had to learn. Worst I ever got was a few burns," she admitted.

"Then you're gonna learn. Eric, can you hear me?" Danny's duplicate told her firmly. Eric gasped for air and nodded stiffly.

"You're going into shock. Stab wounds are nasty and this looks deep. I'm going to explain what will happen so you know what to expect alright? First you're going to go into flight or fight mode. You'll be confused and then everything will go numb. I'm going to try and treat this as best I can. If I don't you'll bleed out. It will hurt. Do you understand?" Danny's duplicate informed Eric. Again the injured halfa nodded stiffly. He could hardly concentrate but he did hear what Danny was saying.

"Yazmin, sit at his head. If he tries to move, hold down his shoulders. Keep his arms down too. Talk to him and try to keep him calm," Danny's duplicate ordered. Yazmin scrambled to obey him.

"Valerie, keep his legs down. He is going to fight you. He's too in shock to use his powers though. Thankfully he's not like me. I instinctively use my powers when I'm in danger," Danny's duplicate instructed.

"You sound like you've been hurt this bad before. Were you like this after the crash a few days ago?" Valerie remarked.

"No. I hit my head. Head wounds make you sluggish and our powers need clear thoughts and intentions. I didn't really know what was going on around me then," Danny's duplicate admitted. Valerie nodded, guilt seeping into her heart as she realised that Danny had suffered other wounds and regularly enough to know how they affected him. Likely because of her.

"Eric. I have no pain killer. Try to bear through this. I'm going to remove the knife," Danny's duplicate called to the teen.

"Is that a good idea?" Valerie squeaked.

"I need it gone to see the damage. But I'm probably gonna have to cauterise it," Danny's duplicate replied and took a hold of the knife hilt. He called no further warnings as he pulled the blade out. Eric screeched in agony and attempted to fight Danny's duplicate off but Yazmin and Valerie quickly held him down.

"Why didn't you turn it intangible?" Yazmin yelled fearfully.

"Reassure him. Anti-ghost tech like this repels ghost powers. Meaning I can't turn it intangible," Danny's duplicate answered knowingly. Valerie paled at the sight of green blood gushing out of the wound. Danny's duplicate pressed a hand down firmly on Eric's wound and Eric whimpered. The white glove, staining green, turned invisible and Danny's duplicate examined the wound with a frown.

"It's too deep to leave. Eric, I'm cauterising it. Only done this once," Danny's duplicate warned.

Danny's duplicate charged his hand with a concentrated ghost ray. Eric screamed and Yazmin and Valerie winced as they held the boy down again. Danny's duplicate scowled in determination and pushed his powers into the wound and burned the wound shut, pouring his ice powers into the wound as he closed it, numbing the area with cold. His eyes swirled with green and blue as he accessed both powers. He then removed his hand.

"Calm him down. That should hold. Sam's better than me. Stay with him," Danny's duplicate concluded before disappearing, recalled back to the original.

 **Poor brave Eric.**

 **Valerie knows! But there are a few things to wrap up before the end of this story.**

 **Let me know what you think.**

 **Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. Don't take what happened in the story as correct procedure.**

 **Make sure to check out my website and casting your votes in the polls. There's no clear winner yet. There's a link in my bio.**

 **Anyway, until the next chapter.**


	33. Chapter 33

Danny lunged at the Phantom hunter as soon as he duplicated, sending the copy to Eric's aid. The halfa needed immediate medical attention. With his focus split between treating Eric and fighting the hunter, he was at a disadvantage and forced to stay on defence. The hunter pulled out his staff again and fired a gun with his free hand. He was a skilled fighter. Danny could tell that much. And the hunter was out for blood. Danny, due to multitasking, was hit in the chest by the staff at least twice and grazed by three bullets, leaving burns on his arms and leg. He blocked out the screams across the room from Eric. Neither of his selves could afford to be distracted. Then once he was confident that Eric was out of danger, he merged his copy back with himself.

No longer distracted, he switched tactics and formed an icy sword. He lunged and parried with grace and precision, thanking his training with Frostbite silently. The ghost had been kind enough to not only teach Danny how to master his ice powers but to also use weapons he formed out of ice. Danny finally sliced through the metal rod the staff's energy based bars originated from and severed the circuitry. With the circuitry damaged the weapon over loaded and the energy exploded out and pushed both combatants back from each other a few feet. The Phantom hunter would never admit it, but he had never seen a halfa so powerful or skilled. He recalled Clockwork's warning. Danny wasn't not going to be easy to defeat.

Danny glanced over at Eric, sensing the hunter's hesitation. The boy had passed out and reverted to human. Danny didn't blame him. Stab wounds and cauterisation were agonizing and exhausting. Yazmin and Valerie were kneeling beside him still, their clothes streaked with ghost blood but they obviously didn't care. They were watching Danny worriedly. Danny turned back to his adversary. The hunter had tossed his broken staff to one side and pulled out another gun.

"I don't care how good you are. I'm going to put you down," the hunter growled, ignoring the fact that the gun he had chosen was yet to be fully tested and approved for battle.

Danny smirked. He had the hunter off balance. He vaguely wondered if Eric's father had had an un-energised core as well as his son. Which meant that this hunter hadn't faced a true halfa before.

"Thanks for the compliment. I'm afraid I can't return the favour," Danny taunted. The hunter's expression darkened with anger.

"He's inherited Valerie's short fuse," Danny muttered to himself. Finally a plan clicked into place in his mind. If he could push the hunter past reason with rage, then he'd be easier to fight. Then he'd just have to knock the man out and Valerie had some bolas, he was certain that the Red Huntress had thrown some at him in the past.

"You've ruined my night you know. I promised Sam no ghost stuff," Danny pointed out with practiced annoyance, grinning as he saw the hunter's anger increase. The hunter fired an energy bullet at Danny but the halfa simply dodged. The fight was becoming normal for Danny. Like any other fight he had with ghost hunters and the odd ghost. Witty banter, fight, defeat, go home. But then there was a massive explosion and Danny spun around to see that the energy bullet he dodged had exploded, setting a table and hanging streamers and banners on fire. He gasped in alarm. This was not good!

"Better than I thought," the hunter remarked with surprise before grinning cruelly and fired again at Danny, who was distracted by the growing inferno. Danny spun around in time to form a shield. He was thrown backwards as the bullet exploded against his shield and set fire to the ground below him. Danny yelped in alarm. He was particularly vulnerable to fire as he had an ice core. If he became too dehydrated, he couldn't form ice and got weak and sick. Danny quickly moved a safer distance from the flames and scowled at the man.

"Now you're ruining everyone's night," he growled. The hunter smirked and fired his new gun at Danny again.

Valerie gasped as the fire grew and began to consume the gym. She glanced down at the unconscious boy beside her and scowled in determination.

"Hey! We gotta get him out of here!" Valerie shouted at Yazmin. Yazmin tore her terrified gaze from Danny as he dodged another bullet and nodded fearfully. Together, Valerie and Yazmin stumbled to their feet and grabbed Eric. They carried the teen out of the gym, coughing as smoke started to fill the air.

Outside, the chaperoning teachers and evacuated prom goers were gathered on the grass. There were worried mutterings throughout the crowd, which only got louder when smoke was spotted coming out of the open gym doors, but at the front was Sam and Tucker shouting.

"Let us go back! Danny's still in there!" Sam screamed, hysterical with fear.

"I can't let you go back in there Miss Manson. The police are on their way here. Please calm down," Mr Lancer retorted sternly, but worry and fear were clear in his eyes also.

"Wait! That's Fenturd!" Dash yelled and pointed to Eric as Yazmin, still in her ghost form, and Valerie, in her black and red jumpsuit, carried the teen outside. Valerie blinked before considering the teen. She had to admit. Eric did look like Danny. Eric was a little shorter than Danny but only by an inch or two. His hair was a bit shorter too but from a distance, she would have made the same mistake. The biggest difference between the two halfas was their human eye colour. Eric had brown and Danny had blue. Sam pushed past Mr Lancer and sprinted to Eric's side. She recognised the boy instantly as not her boyfriend. She glanced at Valerie and Yazmin a spilt second before plastering on a fake relieved grin.

"What happened in there?" she asked.

"He got stabbed," Yazmin mumbled worriedly.

"Phantom treated him. Cauterised the wound," Valerie added uncertainly. Sam nodded. Tucker ran over and frowned. Eric wasn't wearing a suit. If anyone got closer, they'd know this wasn't Danny. To protect his secret, they had to get Eric awake or out of here.

"Er, girl ghost? Would you mind taking _Danny_ to the hospital?" Tucker requested, wary of Valerie.

"I know about Danny. And them being halfas," Valerie informed them. Sam and Tucker quickly glanced at each other in shocked alarm before pushing down their concerns about the huntress.

"What's going on?" Sam demanded to know quietly.

"That man is a Phantom hunter. He's trying to kill Danny. Eric stopped that hunter hurting Danny then Danny treated him and fought off the hunter. That hunter has a gun that explodes and is setting the gym on fire," Yazmin explained. They had accomplished their goal. Danny had told Valerie of his halfa status. They didn't need to hide who they were anymore.

Tucker and Sam shared another serious look.

"That's bad. Fire and Danny don't mix well. His ice core is affected badly. He needs to wrap that fight up. Pronto. As for Eric, I can't do anything for him right now with everyone watching. Take him somewhere safe at least we can protect Danny's secret," Sam told the others.

"I can take him. I'll take him to yours Sam, alright?" Yazmin offered. Sam gave a curt nod in agreement and the female halfa gently scooped the older teen into her arms and drifted unsteadily into the air and flew off towards the Manson residence.

"I'll go help Danny. For some reason that hunter doesn't want to hurt me," Valerie volunteered and ran back into the burning gym. Sam and Tucker got to their feet and made to follow but they were stopped by a couple of teachers. Sirens blared through the air and police cars arrived on the scene, one officer radioed back to base that there was a fire.

Valerie ran back into the fire, using her jet sled was not a good idea. Smoke rose and her suit didn't have an air filter. A flash of green caught her attention and she rushed towards the light. In the centre of the fire, Danny and the Phantom hunter were fighting. Valerie frowned at Danny. He didn't look great. He was pale and sweaty, his movements were slowing down. Valerie applied what she knew of fighting Danny to the situation and knew that the halfa was in trouble. The hunter knew it too. He was making sure to keep Danny in the gym. She flinched as another explosion stopped Danny from floating into the air, keeping him pinned to the ground. She ran forwards and put herself in between them, hoping her observation was right. The Phantom hunter stopped mid-throw as he grabbed an ecto-grenade.

Danny bent over double, panting in the overheated air. He was dehydrating and fast. He had to get out of this fire or he was going to lose.

"If you want him, you'll have to go through me," Valerie growled over the crackle of the flames. The hunter looked conflicted. He couldn't hurt Valerie. He only now realised that the fire had put not only himself and Danny in danger but also the students, teachers and most importantly Valerie in danger also. He didn't want to change the timeline completely. He just wanted to remove Danny.

"Why are you protecting him? He lied to you. Deceived you. He ruined your life," the hunter inquired.

"He's also my friend. I told him I'd give him a clean slate. While we've had our differences, I don't want him dead. Not anymore. I will protect him from you," Valerie answered honestly, surprised and confused by how much the hunter had known about her.

"Face it… Clockwork… knew this would… happen. He… knows everything! The future… can and _has_ … changed," Danny informed the hunter breathlessly.

The hunter looked between Danny and Valerie in confusion. Danny took a shaky step forward to stand beside Valerie.

"You killed… innocent… people. Orphaned… innocent children. Your past… will be… rewritten," Danny announced, gasping for breath. The man scowled.

"That ghost said I'll never see my family again. I didn't care because I thought… I thought I was doing the right thing," the hunter mumbled.

"How can this be the right thing!? You're trying to kill someone that hasn't done anything wrong!" Valerie shouted angrily. The hunter flinched, almost like he had been slapped.

"I was doing it for you. I thought you hated him. I was taught that he destroyed your life, brick by brick. I wanted to erase that pain," the hunter admitted. Valerie froze in horror. This was because of her!?

Danny's knees threatened to give way and he grabbed Valerie's shoulder for support. He needed to leave. He needed water, a lot of it. Being so close to the raging flames had prevented him breathing into too much smoke but his healing would take care of any damage. Valerie snapped out of her stupor and turned to Danny, ensuring she was still in the hunter's line of fire.

"Danny? Are you alright?" she inquired worriedly. Danny's normally glowing neon green were dim and his aura was flickering. She didn't need to be an expert to see that the halfa was struggling. She glanced at the hunter. He seemed to be in a horrified state of shock himself but she wasn't taking any chances. Her suit followed her psychic commands and tossed bolas at the man, ensnaring him in weighted rope. The man fell down and she grabbed him and dragged him behind her as she encouraged Danny to lean on her for support.

 **A team effort to take down the Phantom hunter.**

 **Valerie is officially on Danny's side.**

 **Let me know what you think so far of the story.**

 **Someone wanted clarification on what the school saw of Danny and the Phantom Hunter's fight. They saw Danny get blasted through the gym doors from the school before the man entered the gym and aimed a gun at Danny. Danny struggled to his feet and Sam ran over to help her boyfriend. Once the other students saw Danny in danger, they ran for safety out of the building, dragging Tucker and Valerie with them.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	34. Chapter 34

The second they staggered through the open doors, Danny collapsed, greedily breathing in the cool air. Valerie spared him a glance before dragging the hunter directly over to the police officers waiting for the fire brigade to arrive.

"This guy set fire to the school and attacked Danny Fenton," Valerie informed them.

"We'll need a statement. How did you stop him?" a police officer interjected before she could return to Danny's side.

"I didn't do much. Phantom fought him off so I could grab Fenton and get out of there. I got a lucky shot in with the bolas," she semi-lied, she didn't like lying to the police officer but she couldn't tell him the truth.

She left before the officer could stop her and returned to Danny's side.

"How are you doing?" she asked worriedly.

"I… need water. I need… water," he panted. Valerie blinked in alarm and turned to the watching crowd.

"Don't just stand there! He needs water. Go get some!" she commanded and a few students ran off to nearby houses to comply. Dash ran to the pitch behind the school where there was a tap for filling sports bottles, grabbing the rack of bottles from the storage shed. Dash was the first back and handed a bottle to Danny carefully. Danny snatched the water off the jock and chugged the bottle down in one. He grabbed another and did the same.

Valerie and Dash watched in silent surprise and concern. Danny grabbed a third and swallowed half the bottle before struggling to his feet.

"Thanks," he rasped. Dash grinned broadly, glad to have been of help. Danny stepped back into the gym doorway and his green eyes switched to electric blue as he reached for his ice powers.

"Never tried to put out such a big fire but I'll try," Danny remarked as he closed his eyes and outstretched his hands. Valerie gasped worriedly but couldn't stop him before a beam of bright blue ice energy erupted from the ghostly teen's hands. The ice hit the raging flames and wrestled for dominance. Slowly the ice covered the fire, before melting and then putting the inferno out. The fire brigade arrived and ran towards the gym before stopping as they saw the halfa already working on stopping the fire. The gym and prom were destroyed but at least he could save the school.

Fifteen minutes later and the fire was out. Danny dropped his hands and slumped against the door jamb.

"Water," he requested tiredly and held out a hand. Valerie instantly obliged and handed him the half-filled bottle. He downed the bottle and requested another, drinking it in one go again.

"Thanks. I can manage on my own from now on," Danny decided. He wasn't in danger of passing out from exhaustion and dehydration anymore and he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

"Your cousin went to your girlfriend's," Valerie told him uncertainly, glancing at Dash warily.

"Woah! You have a girlfriend!" Dash exclaimed excitedly.

"I do. Look, she's probably worried about me. I gotta go," Danny excused himself. Dash opened his mouth to argue but Valerie put her hand over the jock's mouth.

"Go. The cops did want a statement but I think it can wait until morning. You look wiped," Valerie offered. Danny smiled gratefully and jumped into the air.

"Er… did my cousin take that kid anywhere? I might be able to heal his injuries with a trick I know," Danny asked carefully. Valerie nodded.

"You can ask her when you see her," Valerie answered carefully. Danny nodded and zoomed off towards Sam's.

Sam and Tucker sighed with relief. Danny's flight path looked stable. He was alright. The fire fighters ventured into the burnt gym to assess the damages.

"Alright, we're going to have to re-organise the prom for next week instead. You are all free to leave, if you need your bags, we'll be distributing them in a few minutes when we're given the all clear to enter the school," Mr Lancer announced, recovering first. Over the next twenty minutes, the crowd of teenagers filtered away home, many calling parents to be collected. Sam called Jazz to pick her and Tucker up, the Red Huntress disappeared a few minutes after Danny Phantom and Valerie found Phil and Star.

"I'm going to go to the hospital to check on Danny. Sorry Phil," Valerie told them. Phil shook his head.

"Do what you gotta do. He's your friend. I get it," Phil assured her.

"Text me later, kay? Let me know if the freak's alright?" Star requested. Valerie sighed but agreed nonetheless. There was no point in protesting against Star's word choice.

Valerie nervously walked over to Sam and Tucker as they waited for Jazz with Danny's and their bags. Sam had pulled Danny's sneakers out of his bag and put them on instead of her heels which were likely ashes now.

"Hi. Can… can I go with you to make sure Danny's alright?" Valerie asked nervously. Sam scowled at the girl.

"One condition. No weapons or fighting. We don't trust you. And you won't be left alone with him," Tucker stipulated. Valerie nodded in understanding, agreeing without hesitation. Jazz's blue convertible pulled up in the car park and she got out.

"Sam, Tucker. And Valerie? Where's Danny? What happened? Sam just said that there was a fire and the prom was cancelled," Jazz questioned worriedly.

"Danny's gone ahead to Sam's," Valerie answered.

"We'll explain everything there. By the way, Valerie knows about Danny, Eric and Yazmin," Tucker added, sliding into the back of the car as Sam claimed the front passenger seat. Jazz blinked before shrugging and getting back into the car as Valerie nervously got into the back with Tucker, dropping her bag at her feet.

They drove in silence and Jazz pulled up outside Sam's house. Valerie frowned in confusion. They filed out and Danny joined them, back in his human form. His suit looked surprisingly intact despite everything that happened apart from a couple of burns and the massive hole in the back exposing red angry skin beneath.

"What happened to your back!?" Jazz exclaimed worriedly.

"Later Jazz. Tucker, mind switching jackets? I don't want to have to explain everything to Sam's parents," Danny replied tiredly. Tucker wordlessly shrugged his jacket off and handed it to the halfa. Danny copied the action, wincing as he pulled on his large burn. Sam waited until she was sure Danny was ready to face her parents and then grabbed her keys out of her bag and opened the front door.

She led the way inside, Jazz and Tucker staying close to Danny who looked exhausted and ready to drop. Valerie trailed after the four others, gaping in awe at the lavish hallway.

"This place is amazing," she breathed.

"Yeah, but it kind of comes with being loaded," Tucker remarked dismissively. Valerie turned to Sam, gobsmacked.

"Loaded!? You're rich!?" Valerie exclaimed. Sam rolled her eyes, and started up the stairs.

"Come on, before my parents-" Sam started before being interrupted.

"Sammikins!? What are you doing home?" Pamela cried in surprise.

"There was a fire at the school. Prom got cancelled. We're fine. We're going to my room. Tucker, Jazz and Valerie will be with us so you can't chuck Danny out," Sam explained with a daring scowl, waiting for her mother to argue. Pamela scanned the group before sighing and waving them off.

Danny stumbled up the steps tiredly and Sam led the way to her room. Danny collapsed on her bed, wincing and shifting his position so that he was on his side.

"Can I get bucket of water Sam? I'm still a bit dehydrated," Danny requested, only half joking about the bucket.

"I'll get some from the kitchen. Sam, you should check that burn on his back," Tucker offered and left without another word.

"Alright Danny, you heard nurse Tuck. Jacket and shirt off," Sam ordered and pulled the first aid kit out from under her bed.

"How often have you done this kind of stuff?" Valerie whispered, horrified by how casual the trio were. Danny sat up reluctantly, tossed his purple tie on the ground and shrugged Tucker's jacket off and unbuttoned the shirt, knowing it would be agony to pull it off overhead. Sam pulled out some bandages and burn salve she kept. She crawled on to her bed and knelt behind her boyfriend.

"Depends on ghost attacks and your mood swings," Sam answered unapologetically.

"Sam," Danny scolded before hissing as the freezing cold salve touched his burning hot injury. Sam ignored the tone her boyfriend used and focused on treating his numerous burns. His chest was blossoming numerous bruises from being hit by the energy staff.

Tucker returned a few minutes later with a tray of glasses and a pitcher. Danny grabbed the pitcher gratefully and gulped down the water.

"Might be a good idea if you drink a sports drink too Danny. Replace some of those minerals in your system," Jazz suggested.

"Jazz, I know what I need. I need water. My core is overheated. Once I cool down and replace the water in my body it'll settle," Danny retorted. Jazz nodded.

"Where's Eric?" Valerie wondered a few minutes later.

"Yazmin and Eric are in their room. I popped my head in on my way here. Eric's still passed out," Tucker informed her. He took the pitcher and left the room to fill it in the bathroom for his friend.

"Sam, got any powerful pain killers lying around. When Eric wakes up, he's gonna be in a lot of pain," Danny asked. Sam tied off a bandage and frowned in thought.

"I think there might be some in the bathroom. I'll check. But they're not over the counter. I'll get in trouble if we use too many," Sam warned.

"He'll only need one dose. He's probably already started healing. He'll be back to normal by tomorrow night," Danny reassured her.

Tucker returned and handed the pitcher to Danny, who greedily drank the water.

"How do you know all this?" Valerie blurted out worriedly.

"Experience," Danny, Sam and Tucker answered in unison. She flinched at the reply. Jazz frowned sympathetically at the girl but she shared Sam and Tucker's wariness. Sam hopped off her bed once she finished treating Danny's torso injuries and went to the bathroom to look for powerful pain killers. She returned to grab an ignored glass and went into Yazmin and Eric's room.

Sam closed the door quietly behind herself and made her way directly to Eric's double bed. She placed the white pills and glass of water on the bedside cabinet before sitting beside Eric and lifted his shirt. She brushed a hand gently over his cauterised wound before nodding. It was done properly. All she could do was wait for it to heal.

"Get him to take those when he wakes up. Danny did a good job. He'll be fine," Sam instructed Yazmin, who was sitting cross-legged on her bed, watching Eric worriedly. Yazmin nodded.

"Is Danny okay?" she inquired nervously.

"He's fine. A few burns and an overheated core but nothing we can't deal with. When Eric wakes up, you two are welcome to join us in my room," Sam answered with a reassuring smile.

Sam returned to her room to see Danny drinking his third pitcher of water.

"Danny, I know you've got more burns. Pants off, now," Sam ordered. Danny spluttered on the pitcher before glancing at Valerie and Jazz, cheeks turning pink.

"S-Sam, what if your mom comes in?" he choked out.

"You'll turn invisible like normal. You can keep your boxers. We've all seen you without pants," Sam encouraged. Danny grumbled as he unbuttoned his trousers.

"Stupid intangibility," he growled as he kicked them off and let Sam rub the burn salve on the few burns on his legs.

 **So everyone's healing and recovering from the fight.**

 **Let me know what you guys think of the story so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	35. Chapter 35

Half an hour later, Danny was dressed again in his change of clothes from his bag, jeans and a plain shirt, his suit was ruined thanks to the hunter attacking him. Eric woke up and eagerly took the pain killers Sam left out for him. Then both halfas left their room to join the others. Danny had stopped chugging water desperately and sipped at a glass of water instead, the pitcher beside him ready to top up the glass. Eric painfully entered the room.

"Eric, that was a gutsy move earlier. Thank you," Danny called to the teen. Eric blushed.

"I didn't really think about what I was doing," Eric mumbled as he and Yazmin found seats, Tucker surrendering the desk chair for Eric.

"Alright, now that all the medical stuff is out of the way. What the hell is going on?!" Jazz demanded. Danny glanced at his sister before pointing with his glass at Yazmin and Eric.

"They're from the future. So I think they need to explain more than me," Danny revealed. Everyone gaped at the younger halfas.

"We are," Yazmin confirmed nervously.

"Why did Clockwork send you here?" Danny asked, setting down his drink to give his full attention to the conversation.

"He wanted us to change the past to save you," Eric answered warily. Danny raised an eyebrow.

"He knowingly sent you back to change the past," Danny muttered in disbelief. Yazmin and Eric nodded.

"Who's Clockwork?" Valerie interjected, completely lost.

"Ghost of time. He doesn't get out much. He doesn't usually get involved with the time stream either," Danny elaborated for the huntress.

"Why send you two though?" Tucker wondered. Yazmin and Eric bit their lips, reluctant to answer.

"Because they're my descendants, mine or Dani's," Danny answered for them. Yazmin and Eric glanced nervously at the older halfa while everyone stared at him in shock.

"How did you come up with that!?" Jazz squeaked in shock.

"That hunter. He said a lot of stuff. Mostly about killing halfas. Yazmin and Eric were born with their powers. They have this thing with my symbol, so they can't be related to Vlad and to be honest I can't see him having kids in the future. Not unless they're clones of someone, namely me. Which is the same thing as my descendants. That man killed Eric's father," Danny explained. Eric hung his head sadly.

"So your parents really are dead," Sam whispered.

"Yeah. My mom died of cancer a few years ago. I never knew my dad," Yazmin confirmed.

"That Phantom hunter killed my dad and my little sister. He would have killed me too if my mom hadn't distracted him for me," Eric mumbled. Everyone fell silent, not knowing what to say.

"Why did you lie to us?" Tucker asked as the silence stretched.

"Because Clockwork told us not to tell you about him. He told us what we had to do and made it clear that we couldn't tell you guys anything or you'd approach everything with the wrong reasons," Yazmin informed them.

"Approach what?" Jazz pressed curiously. Yazmin sighed and glanced at Valerie.

"Her," Yazmin answered.

"Me?" Valerie repeated in confusion. Yazmin nodded.

"In the future, you found out Danny's secret. Twenty years from now at a school reunion there was a ghost attack. You followed Danny around for a month and learned his secret. You… were angry. You lured Danny to Lake Eerie and tortured him, killed him. After that, Danny's wife and kids fled. Halfas have been in hiding ever since. Valerie's descendants hunted us down like game. Danny's teachings were lost over time, and I guess his power too seeing as our cores weren't activated," Yazmin explained. Danny and Valerie shared an unreadable glance.

"That psycho… was my great- whatever grandson," Valerie gasped. Yazmin, Eric and Danny nodded.

"Clockwork wanted you to tell Valerie your secret to prevent that time line. But you couldn't know why because then you wouldn't have told her for the right reasons," Eric added softly. Danny nodded slowly in understanding.

"So, let's get this straight. I was killed by Valerie. Her children and then their descendants hunted down my kids and so on. Then that hunter found your family Eric, and killed your dad and sister. You got away, found Yazmin and somehow ended up with Clockwork. Clockwork explained everything and sent you back. At some point that hunter found Clockwork, destroyed him and came back to now. Your job was to make sure I told Valerie my secret. What I don't get, is why now?" Danny summarised.

"Something was going to happen that would have stopped you telling Valerie your secret. But that shouldn't happen now," Yazmin answered.

"What did she do?" Sam prompted. Yazmin and Eric glanced nervously at each other.

"She called the Guys in White and got Vlad arrested. He died in captivity six years later," Eric revealed. Valerie gasped. Everyone turned to her as she guiltily chewed her lip.

"Valerie. Did you call the Guys in White?" Danny pressed sternly, recognising the look from their brief dating period. Valerie gulped fearfully and nodded.

"I… I called them on Wednesday. After… after you tried to get me to back off. I thought about what you said and decided to get professionals involved. They're coming tomorrow morning. Ten sharp," Valerie admitted. Danny scowled angrily.

"Do you know what ghost hunters like the Guys in White do to ghosts!?" Danny growled furiously. Valerie cringed and tentatively shook her head.

"They rip them apart. Molecule by molecule. Ghosts are terrified of them. You should hear the stories in the Ghost Zone," Danny told her, shuddering in horror as he recalled a number of them. Valerie bowed her head in shame.

"No wonder I hid the truth from you. Why didn't I stop them?" Danny huffed, turning to the younger halfas curiously. Yazmin gestured to Sam, Tucker and Jazz.

"They stopped you. Sucked you into a thermos. Clockwork gave the impression that if they hadn't you would have been caught too," Yazmin answered. Sam and Tucker glanced at each other. They knew that they would have done that. To save Danny's life they'd do almost anything.

"I'm sorry," Valerie whispered.

"Don't apologise. You are going to call them off," Danny snapped.

"How can she do that Danny? Once a report is given, by law the Guys in White have to check it out. We should warn Vlad," Sam interjected. Danny sighed away his anger, he knew Sam was right, and nodded.

"I'll go now. Valerie… Vlad's gonna be mad. I'm going to have to lay out everything about the situation. You shouldn't be alone tonight. I don't care how good you are at kicking ghost butt. You don't stand a chance against Vlad," Danny decided. He stood up and changed into his ghost form. He paused to down the rest of his glass of water.

"Back in a bit," Danny threw over his shoulder before he phased out of the bedroom and zoomed across town.

He turned invisible and landed at Vlad's front door. He sighed and rang the doorbell. The door opened and Vlad peered out to the apparently empty doorstep.

"It's me Vlad. I have some news," Danny muttered. Vlad blinked and stepped back for the teen to enter the house.

"Not that I'm ungrateful that you have finally some news on my annoyance, but don't you have prom tonight?" Vlad pointed out, confusion clear.

"Been there and done it. A psycho attacked and tried to kill me, set the gym on fire. Prom's cancelled, for tonight at least," Danny explained with a shrug. This was not his week. First getting hit by a truck, then a psycho trying to kill him and prom getting cancelled. Now he had to deal with Guys in White after Vlad. Vlad smiled sympathetically.

"I'm sorry to hear that Daniel. I trust that you are uninjured," Vlad inquired, concern lacing his tone. Danny shrugged.

"A few burns and I got a bit dehydrated. But I'm fine. More damage was done to my reputation, but I can always spin the whole son of ghost hunters thing. But that's not why I'm here. I know who's been targeting you," Danny replied.

Vlad's eyes widened with sudden interest. He rolled his hand in encouragement.

"Can we sit down? You're not gonna like what I have to say. So, no powers, both of us, deal?" Danny suggested warily. He knew there was a saying not to shoot the messenger, but he doubted Vlad would care. Vlad raised an eyebrow and led the way into the nearest sitting room.

"Very well. Deal. You should start with reverting to human little badger," Vlad agreed, inviting the teen to sit in an armchair opposite him. Danny complied and took a deep steadying breath, he didn't sit back as his back was still painful to lean on.

"Valerie knows both of our secrets. She's known yours since you used her to catch Danielle. She learnt mine tonight. She's been targeting you. She wanted to ruin you for using and manipulating her. I can't say I blame her," Danny began. Vlad scowled in anger.

"No powers," Danny reminded the older halfa.

"How long have you known that?" Vlad growled.

"Tuesday night. I didn't tell you before because I was hoping to stop Valerie without involving you. No offense Vlad, but you have a terrible temper," Danny admitted. Vlad growled angrily in his throat. Danny sighed.

"I wouldn't have told you either but… I needed to warn you. Valerie called the Guys in White. They're coming to arrest you tomorrow, ten o'clock," Danny revealed. Vlad's eyes pulsed bright red in fury.

"Where is she?!" Vlad snarled.

"Under my protection," Danny retorted sharply. Vlad glowered at the teen.

"You would protect the girl that has threatened my, no, both of our, survival. You are a fool Daniel," Vlad pointed out dangerously. Danny frowned.

"I think everyone has the right to a second chance. Even you. This is Valerie's," Danny remarked. Vlad scoffed.

"You'll never survive in this world with an attitude like that. You're too soft," Vlad replied. Danny shrugged.

"Vlad, right now that stuff doesn't matter. We need to figure out how to deal with the Guys in White. They are going to investigate Valerie's call. They have to by law. If we don't have a plan, then they might just get lucky and catch you tomorrow," Danny decided. Vlad huffed angrily.

"I could just kill them using my ghost half and ghostly employees," Vlad suggested. Danny scowled.

"New plan of action. I'll figure out what we'll do. We're not killing anyone Vlad. One day halfas will be discovered. Whether it be me or you or if we have kids one day. We want to pave a positive path for them. If we give normal people a reason to fear us, then they'll attack us out of self-defence," Danny retorted firmly.

"Aren't you a little young to be thinking of children Daniel? Unless there's some news you need to inform your and Samantha's parents of," Vlad remarked. Danny blushed bright red.

"No! I don't! I'd prefer if you kept out of my personal business," Danny growled. Vlad chuckled.

"As would I but alas we both know we won't get what we want," Vlad commented with amusement. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. I'll think of something tonight and come back tomorrow morning before the Guys in White get here. You should probably hide or get rid of anything you don't want the Guys in White to find," Danny suggested. Vlad frowned at the veiled order but didn't object as Danny stood up.

"I mean it Vlad. Leave Valerie alone," Danny warned before changing forms and leaving intangibly through a wall.

 **Yep, not out of trouble yet. They have to protect Vlad now.**

 **Let me know what you think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	36. Chapter 36

Jazz drove back home to grab a few Fenton phones and thermoses for the teens to use, Danny having neglected to grab them when he borrowed the ghost catcher. Yazmin and Eric decided to go with Jazz and Tucker respectively when they started their plan. Yazmin with Jazz as Jazz was the weakest link of the team. And Eric with Tucker as the halfa was injured and might be better with someone with more experience, that and insurance that Tucker didn't mess anything up, like dropping the thermos and releasing both Danny and Vlad's ghost half before they were safe.

"Alright, Vlad. Time's getting on and the sooner we split you the better. We can figure out how you split and make sure everything is fine," Danny announced. Vlad frowned suspiciously at the device.

"How do I know that works? Jack is an imbecile. I've seen that ridiculous ghost gabber of his," Vlad snarled. Danny rolled his eyes with a heavy sigh.

"Trust me. It works. I've split myself using this thing. If you have to see it though…" Danny reassured before sticking his arm through the ghost catcher. His human arm and ghost arm split into two hands and forearms, joining at the elbow. Valerie let out an alarmed squeak while Eric and Yazmin shuffled away from the device warily. Danny pulled his arm back through and the two hands and forearms merged together and Danny twisted his wrist slightly to get rid of the slight tingle left behind.

"Like I said. It works," Danny concluded unnecessarily.

Vlad smiled grimly with clear reluctance.

"It doesn't hurt Vlad. It's perfectly safe," Danny assured the man.

"I thought you said it could be dangerous to split a halfa," Eric recalled. Danny sighed.

"Let me rephrase that then. It could be dangerous for us. It's not dangerous for Vlad unless he starts attacking himself. I remember it being like having a twin. But having completely different opinions and personalities. It's difficult to explain to be honest," Danny corrected. Vlad blinked and carefully approached the ghost catcher. He tentatively put his hand through and watched with interest as a ghostly arm separated from his human one. Danny rolled his eyes impatiently and pushed the device over to fall over Vlad. Vlad yelped in alarm but didn't have the time to dodge.

Vlad Masters glanced down at himself and sighed with relief. He dusted down his suit before turning to Danny with a displeased frown.

"Daniel, that wasn't very polite," the man remarked. Danny quirked an eyebrow before getting blasted off his feet.

"You little rat! I should kill you for that stupid stunt!" Vlad Plasmius seethed. Danny got to his feet.

"We don't have all day and I need you to make sure that the split worked properly. Besides you were being a baby about it," Danny retorted. The others were staring at the two Vlads with curious wary gazes.

One was Vlad Masters in a perfect suit. His features were oddly calm, almost kind. It was a shock to all present as they knew who this man was really, and kind wasn't a word usually used to describe the first halfa. The other was Vlad Plasmius. His red eyes pulsed brightly with rage and his hands crackled with barely contained ghost rays, glaring at Danny as he cracked his back from hitting the opposite wall.

"Alright, try to change into ghost form human Vlad," Danny instructed.

"You said he wouldn't be able to do that," Plasmius growled. Danny nodded.

"I did, as long as this worked as I planned. But one time I split myself I became two halfas with different powers accessible to different halves. I want to make sure that isn't the case," Danny agreed. Plasmius angrily folded his arms and turned to Masters as he closed his eyes in concentration. A few seconds later he opened his dark blue eyes and shook his head.

"I'm unable to change," Vlad reported. Danny grinned.

"Perfect!" Danny exclaimed happily.

"I think I know how Vlad was split. His human half is the cool, collected business man. But his ghost half is the angry, vengeful ghost," Tucker remarked.

"Watch your words child!" Plasmius hissed. Danny sighed.

"I figured something like this would happen. Plasmius play nicely. Take a deep breath and chill," Danny interjected. Plasmius glared at Danny who flashed his eyes threateningly.

"Don't make me put you on ice until the Guys in White get here Plasmius. I'll do it. You know I will," Danny warned. Plasmius growled in his throat but set his feet down and relaxed his menacing posture slightly.

"Will the plan still work?" Valerie wondered worriedly. Danny nodded.

"Definitely. Actually, it might even work better than I thought. With the personality differences and Plasmius fitting into the whole vengeful ghost image, the Guys in White should be fooled. But we need to get to our posts and I'll get this back home before the Guys in White seize it," Danny decided as he picked up the device. Jazz returned seconds before he phased out of the mansion, handing her brother a thermos and ear piece.

Danny returned to his house and left the ghost catcher in his room. He knew he'd get in trouble later if his parents spotted it there but it needed to be accessible, which it wasn't if it was in the lab with his parents. He didn't want to leave Plasmius out there with his incredibly short fuse and explosive anger. Danny could take a hit if it came to it. Someone like Valerie or a Guys in White agents couldn't. Vlad's ghost half might kill someone for just getting in his way right now. He then zoomed back to Vlad's neighbourhood and settled beside Valerie on the roof of the opposite mansion.

"Thanks," Valerie unexpectedly muttered. Danny blinked and stared at her in confusion.

"For giving me a second chance. You didn't have to do that. Not after everything I did to you," Valerie clarified. Danny smirked.

"Valerie, I consider you a friend. Besides, this has to be weirder for you than for me. I've known about your ghost hunting activities and vendetta against me since you started. How are you holding up?" Danny replied. Valerie sighed.

"Okay. I'm still not sure that you being Phantom has registered with me though. I'm still thinking of you both as different people. I know you're not but that mentality is hard to shake," Valerie confessed.

"Trust me. I know what you mean. When I split myself it took an hour or so to stop referring to myself as "we". But you'll get used it to. It just takes time. And Sam, Tuck and Jazz will be less protective given time too," Danny reassured her. Valerie smirked.

"You know, I'm starting to wish that I'd seen you when you split yourself. Sounds like it was an experience," Valerie remarked. Danny chuckled.

"It was a mess Val. I got me, Sam and Tucker banned from the movies by the manager for a month. It would have been life if Sam hadn't had connections and I hadn't written a formal apology," Danny recalled. Valerie blinked.

"We're in position in front of the school," Tucker reported in.

"I'm at the docks," Sam informed them over the Fenton phones.

"And we're in the park," Jazz added.

"Great work guys. Ghost catcher's in my room and should stay there as long as my parents don't spot it. Val's with me opposite Vlad's," Danny replied, using his own Fenton phone.

"Guys in White should be there in a few minutes," Tucker remarked.

"I suppose I should change to human in case they pick me up on their sensors," Danny muttered and a flash of light later, Danny Fenton was crouched on the roof with Valerie. Valerie blinked at him, still recovering from the unusual sight. Danny though was unfazed as he scanned the street below them, tense and ready to jump into the situation when the Guys in White would finally arrive.

Five minutes later, three white vans drove down the street and pulled up in front of Vlad's mansion.

"I really hope Vlad's ready and that his ghost half keeps calm enough to not attack those agents," Danny mumbled worriedly. Bald men in white suits filed out of the vans, most holding anti-ghost rifles. Two agents marched up to the front door and Danny could hear from his perch on the opposite roof their loud knock. The door opened to reveal Vlad Masters. The billionaire swept his gaze over the street and scowled at the government agents on his doorstep.

"I assume you have a reason to be here. Otherwise you'll have to leave, I don't take kindly to men with guns on my front lawn," Vlad growled. Danny rolled his eyes. At least the man hadn't threatened the Guys in White yet.

"Vladimir Masters, we had a report that you are involved with ectoplasmic entities, in other words ghosts. We have a warrant to arrest you and to search the premises. You have the right to remain silent but anything you do say will be used as evidence in our investigation," one agent announced, pulling out a pair of slightly glowing handcuffs. Vlad glared at the man, his gaze flicked to the sky for a split second before he backed away a step.

"I have no intention of going with you lot. Clear off!" Vlad ordered menacingly.

"Come on Vlad, give me something to intervene," Danny whispered. He didn't want to be seen attacking another mayor without just cause. The agents on the doorstep advanced on the man, one pulling a scanner out of his jacket. He flipped it on and a shrill alarm pierced the morning.

"Confirmed ectoplasmic evidence on the premises," the agent declared. Vlad's dark blue eyes flashed bright red and his hands erupted in ghost rays. He fired on the agents and Danny jumped to his feet and changed into his ghost form. He then leapt off the roof and charged into the fight as the Guys in White came to their senses and pointed their guns at Vlad who loomed angrily in the front doorway.

"There you are!" Danny shouted, feigning relief. The Guys in White tore their determined scowls away from Vlad and looked up to see Danny. Vlad looked up as well and snarled at the teen. Danny charged his fists and flew at top speed towards Vlad. Instinctively Vlad created a shield around himself which Danny crashed head first into. Danny backed away a few feet and rubbed the fast forming bump on his head. He gritted his teeth in annoyance. While this would look good, it wasn't part of the plan and Danny didn't want to waste unnecessary energy fighting Vlad before flying away with the Guys in White on his tail.

"Vlad! Stick to the plan," Danny hissed as he phased into the ground. Vlad huffed angrily but lowered his shield and pretended to scan the lawn for any sign of Danny.

Danny phased back up behind Vlad and charged his fists and phased through Vlad's body, ripping Vlad's ghost half out by force. Vlad Masters stumbled on his feet and leaned heavily against the door jamb. Danny threw Plasmius a short distance away from himself. The Guys in White had to see that the human Vlad had been overshadowed for the plan to work best. They needed a good look.

"I've been looking for you all over town Plasmius! Overshadowing the mayor was a coward's move," Danny taunted loudly for the Guys in White agents' benefit below them. Luckily Plasmius was dazed from being forced out of his host. It often happened to ghosts when they had been overshadowing a human. Plasmius wouldn't be able to argue or say something to give the game away. Danny shot Plasmius with a ghost ray, throwing the older ghost to the ground. The Guys in White gathered around and pointed their weapons at Plasmius and Danny. Seconds before the ghost hunters could catch the dazed ghost, Danny pulled out his thermos and caught Vlad first. He then flashed the agents a cocky grin and a mocking salute before speeding away. The school was closest and then the park.

 **A few bumps but more-or-less according to plan.**

 **But will Danny be able to outrun the Guys in White without them seeing anything?**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	37. Chapter 37

Valerie watched the fight below her. Smirking as Danny caught Vlad, quite convincingly too, before flying away. The Guys in White started shouting at each other before splitting into two groups. One group took two of the vans and gave chase to Danny. The small group of the agents filed into the mansion and guided Vlad into his own home to be guarded by an agent while they searched the house for anything incriminating. Valerie waited another minute before conjuring her jet sled and zooming after Danny and the pursuing Guys in White. It didn't take long to spot Danny Phantom soaring through the clouds skilfully dodging blasts from the streets below coming from the two vans. The vans even had a sun roof in the back that a couple of agents stood up in to fire at the ghostly teen above.

Valerie was startled when the Fenton phone under her helmet crackled to life.

"Guys, I can't stop at the school. Those idiots are too close. This only works if you guys can blend into the crowd. Tucker, Eric. Your choice, move or head to Fenton Works," Danny informed the others. Valerie glanced down below as she saw the school pass by, two teenagers running down the street.

"We'll move Danny. We'll head to the cinema," Tucker decided. Valerie sped up a little to start her part of the plan. She was to intervene and help Danny get some distance between Danny and the Guys in White if need be.

For the next twenty minutes, Danny sped through the skies trying to meet up with Sam, Tucker and Eric or Jazz and Yazmin. But every time, despite Valerie's carefully placed help, making sure not to make it obvious that she was helping the ghostly teen, he wasn't able to put enough distance between himself and the ghost hunters. And he was starting to get tired. Flying at top speed for so long was exhausting.

"Danny, I'm going to throw a smoke grenade. It'll give you some cover hopefully, but don't breathe it in. The smoke is meant to daze ghosts. I don't really know how it works," Valerie warned. Danny nodded, which Valerie spotted. She threw the grenade and Danny performed a fancy flip to avoid a blast from below, and fired at the grenade. The grenade exploded and a massive smoke cloud formed. Danny grinned as it expanded to engulf him. He took a quick breath and dove for the ground.

Unfortunately Danny underestimated his altitude and the amount of breath he got into his lungs. They were burning for release and instinctively Danny obeyed. He coughed and accidently inhaled the smoke. For a few seconds there weren't any side-effects. But then his mind grew fuzzy and the world around him distorted.

"Uh oh," he mumbled.

"Uh oh!?" Sam exclaimed worriedly.

"I accidently breathed in some smoke," Danny admitted as he struggled to keep himself as self-aware as possible. Valerie gasped fearfully.

"I'll direct you," Valerie instantly offered. Danny exited the smoke cloud a second later, heading straight for the ground at top speed.

"Pull up Danny. You're gonna crash!" Valerie yelped worriedly. Jerkily, Danny obeyed. Valerie sped up and flew directly behind Danny, relaying directions through the ear pieces while firing well timed shots that missed barely.

Now that they were lower, they had to use the streets and were less visible to the Guys in White vans still chasing the ghostly teen. Valerie breathed a sigh of relief as the library appeared in front of them. Danny was in no condition to throw the thermos to the waiting Sam. Valerie bit her lip before nodding to herself.

"Danny when I say, drop your thermos. Sam be ready, I'll catch Vlad and you capture Danny. This needs to be perfect because the Guys in White are right behind us," Valerie instructed. Sam scowled but for once didn't argue. Instead the Goth grunted an agreement and readied her thermos. Valerie shouted for Danny to drop the thermos and he obeyed. Sam sucked Danny into her thermos a second after Valerie caught the thermos.

"Sam! Catch!" Valerie yelled and threw the second thermos to the Goth before rocketing off to lead the Guys in White on a wild goose chase before hiding in an alley to dematerialise her armour and making her way to Fenton Works. Sam ducked into the library as the Guys in White vans turned the corner and waited a few minutes. The plan would only work if the Guys in White had no reason to suspect Vlad or Danny of hiding anything.

Then Sam jogged to Danny's house with both thermoses safely in her backpack. The other two teams were already there. They gathered in Danny's room and Sam freed Danny, having carefully memorised which thermos held which halfa. Danny collapsed onto his bed.

"Where are we?" Danny slurred.

"Dude, this is _your_ room," Tucker answered worriedly.

"Then why is it pink with green polka dots?" Danny retorted.

"It's not," Jazz told him.

"Must be that smoke making him hallucinate or whatever. I hope it wears off soon," Sam remarked with concern.

"Danny, change back to human," Jazz ordered, at least that way if their parents checked in on them, Danny wouldn't blow his secret or get shot.

"Human?" Danny asked with confusion. Jazz blinked in surprise.

"Yes. Human Danny," Jazz confirmed sternly, worried for her brother.

"Danny reach inside yourself and find that warm spot. Grab it and bring it to the surface," Yazmin instructed. Danny frowned but tried to obey. His eyes flashed bright blue and he accidently fired a beam of ice energy, freezing his dresser in a solid block of ice.

"Warm! Not cold!" Eric squeaked urgently. Danny scowled in concentration.

After three attempts the rings of light appeared around his waist and finally reverted him to human. Valerie arrived a few minutes later, Maddie having answered the door and let the girl inside. She nervously made her way to Danny's room and found Danny Fenton laying dazed on his bed.

"Is he okay?" Valerie inquired worriedly.

"Not really. No. He's really confused and he took him a long time to figure out how to change forms. That smoke really screwed him over," Tucker told her with a shrug. At least this drug didn't make Danny giddy and clingy. It seemed to have drained Danny instead.

"Why does she have fire on her head?" Danny wondered out loud. Valerie blinked.

"She doesn't Danny," Sam informed him gently. Valerie nibbled her lip with guilt and shame. Jazz left the room to sneak into the kitchen to get some water and non-contaminated snacks for everyone. She convinced Danny to drink some water which he tried to chew in his drugged stupor. It took a few tries and his bed was soaked by the time she convinced him to stop "chewing" with his mouth open.

An hour later, the doorbell rang. Seconds later the teens heard Jack's loud voice greeting "V-man" happily. Ten minutes later and Vlad managed to get away from Jack to enter Danny's room. He raised an eyebrow.

"What happened to Daniel?" Vlad inquired curiously, with an underlying concern.

"He breathed in some smoke that's causing him to hallucinate. We're hoping he'll snap out of it with time," Tucker told the older halfa. There was no point lying to Vlad and trying to hide the fact that Danny wasn't himself. Vlad hummed softly.

"What kind of smoke? I might be able to help," Vlad offered. Valerie materialised her armour and took out a grenade. The suit regenerated the weapons she had over time. Vlad examined the grenade.

"I believe that this follows my original designs. It doesn't appear to have been modified beyond the colour. Which means that Daniel should recover given six hours from inhalation. Give or take," Vlad informed them.

"Thanks Vlad," Jazz sighed with relief. At least this wasn't going to be permanent.

"Can you help him get better before then?" Eric requested hopefully.

"The smoke needs to be worked out of his system. So no. The smoke was a very concentrated gas designed to force ghosts into a stupor. Hallucinations are just a side effect. Once it works itself out of his system he should perk up. Now, I'd like to merge myself back together please," Vlad concluded.

Sam sighed and gestured for Vlad to stand beside the ghost catcher. Tucker made sure it was the right way around and Sam released Vlad's angry ghost half.

"Before we merge you two. Truce for the weekend. You don't come after us and we don't go after you. No evil plans and so on. Deal?" Tucker offered, holding a hand out to Vlad's human half. Vlad Masters nodded and shook Tucker's hand.

"Deal," Plasmius growled. Tucker and Sam lifted the ghost catcher and passed it over the two halves and Vlad merged back, standing in his ghost form. He straightened his white suit before changing forms and nodding to the group of teens.

"Why's there an old man in the bathroom?" Danny mumbled intelligently. Vlad glared at him.

"Remember, hallucinogenic. He doesn't know what he's saying Vlad," Jazz interjected before Vlad could get too angry. Vlad huffed loudly and left without another word.

"Grateful much?" Valerie grumbled.

"That's Vlad Valerie. Ignore him," Sam retorted and sat back down beside her boyfriend.

"Can I go home now? It's just I want to check in with my dad and let him know that I'm fine. He's bound to have heard about the school by now and he'll be worried. And I should check in with Star and her cousin," Valerie asked hopefully.

"Sure go ahead. All you're gonna miss here is Danny muttering nonsense. Vlad should leave you alone at least for the weekend. You're under Danny's protection and we just made that deal," Tucker agreed, Sam and Jazz nodding in agreement. Valerie smiled gratefully and left. Jazz took her leave also to head to the library to actually look into her thesis for her college course. Sam settled beside Danny, giving him bite-size snacks and water periodically, hoping the food and water would help him work the smoke out of his system faster. Even if he was confused by the idea that food had flavours and water didn't need to be chewed.

"So… you two are from the future," Tucker remarked, eager to break the silence. Yazmin and Eric nodded.

"You're not siblings are you," Sam commented.

"No. Cousins. My name is really Eric Fenton, so I had to adopt Yazmin's surname to prevent you guys getting suspicious or something," Eric admitted.

"It's tradition for our family to wear Danny's symbol. It's a symbol of respect towards him and honour and pride for our heritage. It's also custom to learn how to change forms at fourteen, again a sign of respect towards Danny," Yazmin explained, fingering her necklace before pulling it off and clicking it open, handing it to Sam.

"That was my mother's. She was a halfa," Yazmin informed them. Sam turned the locket over in her hands before letting Tucker look at it, ignoring a nonsensical question from Danny. Something about holding a snake. Tucker returned the heirloom to Yazmin.

"If you two are descended from Danny… then you know who he married don't you," Sam mused quietly.

"I'm married?" Danny slurred.

"No dude," Tucker answered. Eric and Yazmin shared an uncertain glance.

"We do. But I'm not sure it's a good idea to tell you guys. It might affect what happens. Especially since he's in a relationship with Sam right now," Yazmin decided. Sam looked at Danny before nodding in understanding.

"Fair enough. After he gets married, will you tell us?" Tucker requested. Eric and Yazmin laughed before agreeing. It seemed like a harmless request, Sam and Danny were together and as long as something bad didn't happen, then they should stay together.

 **Poor Danny, he keeps getting drugged in this story.**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far of the story.**

 **Don't forget to vote in the polls on my anniversary page on my website. There's a link in my bio. Those polls are only open for the duration of this fanfic and we're nearing the ending now.**

 **Second, check out Goodbye, a pokémon one-shot following the tradition to post a pokémon related fanfic around my anniversary.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	38. Chapter 38

That evening, Danny recovered from the smoke. It was almost instantaneous. One second he was lethargic and muttering the odd nonsensical comment and then the next he sat up and asked what had happened, having forgotten his drugged stupor completely. It had taken five minutes to convince Danny that he had been babbling nonsense for the last six hours and even then it took a video Tucker recorded of him during a particularly weird ten minutes to prove it to the halfa. Danny, Sam, Tucker, Eric and Yazmin left Fenton Works to head to the Nasty Burger for some dinner, Sam and Tucker having declined to eat with Danny's family in favour of a movie night later, or at least that was the lie they said.

Danny sank into a booth with Eric and Yazmin as Sam and Tucker got the food. Danny rubbed his face tiredly before turning to Eric and Yazmin.

"So, now that you've done your job here, what's your plan? I haven't seen any time medallions on you," Danny asked. Eric and Yazmin sighed sadly.

"They kind of melted into a birthmark on our chests. They can't be taken off anymore," Yazmin admitted. Danny hummed in understanding.

"Probably because your present Clockwork was destroyed. The time medallions kind of follow their own laws but are connected to Clockwork. But if you have changed everything, then your time might not exist anymore," Danny remarked with a slightly saddened knowing tone. Eric and Yazmin nodded.

"Clockwork told us we would have been killed if he didn't intervene. That hunter tracked Yazmin down and I wasn't strong enough to fight him off. We escaped through a blue portal into the Ghost Zone," Eric informed his ancestor. Danny nodded.

"Makes sense. He didn't take you out of your timelines because you technically didn't have one anymore. I know you two probably think he was being cruel, but if he hadn't sent you here, then he would have been forced to rectify that. He really did save your lives. Clockwork would have known that he would have been destroyed. As it wasn't this time's Clockwork, he can't really be punished. Meaning he found a loophole to give you two full lives while stopping my family's horrible fate," Danny explained for them.

Eric and Yazmin shared bewildered looks. They hadn't realised what the time ghost had given them. They had felt used and slightly betrayed. Danny smiled as Sam slid into the seat beside him and handed her boyfriend his meal. He hungrily ate the food and after they were finished they sat in the booth in contented silence.

"I've been thinking. You guys can't live with Sam forever. How would you feel about getting new identities and lives in Elmerton?" Danny spoke up. Eric and Yazmin blinked.

"How are you gonna do that?" Eric questioned.

"Yeah dude, I'm a good hacker but I don't have the equipment to forge birth certs and stuff," Tucker added.

"I was thinking to ask Vlad to pay for it. As a thank you to me for this morning, and maybe an apology for his ghost half making things so difficult. But I'd be your guardian. I can just overshadow someone if you need a parent or something," Danny confessed.

"Danny, you're seventeen," Sam muttered with a raised eyebrow. Danny nodded.

"I know, but I am still their closest relative. And I can't ask Jazz or my parents to do that in my place for obvious reasons," Danny replied calmly.

"Danny, they've been at Casper High," Tucker reminded the halfa. Danny nodded.

"I know. So you'd need to change your surnames. Can't have Fenton or Thompson. I was thinking Nightingale," Danny agreed.

"Nightingale?" Yazmin repeated in confusion. Danny smirked.

"Our ancestor was John Fenton-Nightingale. A witch hunter in the sixteen hundreds in Salem. I figured that we could bring the name back into the family," Danny clarified. Tucker and Sam smiled as they recalled the man. That was when they learned of the dangers of Blood Blossoms. Eric and Yazmin chewed their lips in thought.

"Elmerton is the neighbouring town to Amity Park. Less than ten minutes flying. You can't stay in Amity Park because you'll be recognised. But Elmerton has a great high school and Vlad can fork out to pay for a house and housekeeper for you two. But I will need to explain why I want him to do that," Danny added.

"Why do we need to live in Elmerton? We could live in Amity Park, on the outskirts," Eric inquired curiously.

"I'd prefer to keep you two out of danger as much as possible. I was planning to go to college in Florida. There's an astrophysics and engineering course I'm hoping to get. But I can take a year out to make sure you two are okay. Amity Park is almost constantly attacked by ghosts. While I know you two can fight, the ghosts here are my responsibility. And you two have a long way to go yet before getting into ghost fights. I can take a year out, train you two up and leave Amity Park in Eric's care while he watches over Yazmin in high school. The next year Eric can go to college and Yazmin can take over Amity Park's protection. My course will be four years. But if we do it like that then… Amity Park shouldn't be left unprotected. When Yazmin goes to college, I'll be back and I'll take back the responsibility," Danny planned.

"Quick question, how are they gonna afford college?" Sam interjected.

"Why dear old uncle Vlad," Danny answered with a mischievous grin.

"Why is he gonna pay for all this?" Tucker pressed sceptically. Danny chuckled.

"Leave Vlad to me. I have a plan to convince him," Danny reassured his friend.

Sunday afternoon, Danny Fenton knocked on Vlad's front door. Vlad answered the door before raising an eyebrow.

"Daniel. Not that I don't enjoy you coming to me with your problems as opposed to Jack. But why are you here?" Vlad inquired suspiciously.

"I want to talk business Vlad," Danny admitted. Vlad blinked in shock and let the teen inside.

"Business?" Vlad repeated in stunned shock.

"Yeah. It's about those ghosts you met during the week. I lied you see. They're halfas. From the future. This is gonna take some explaining. Mind if we sit down?" Danny began. Vlad blinked in surprise before nodding and leading Danny to a sitting room.

"Halfas from the future you say?" Vlad repeated curiously.

"Yep. Actually they're my descendants. A long time into the future too Vlad. They were being hunted by the guy who tried to kill me at prom. So uh would you mind using your connections to discredit the guy if he starts blabbing?" Danny requested, he knew what he was asking Vlad to do and he hated giving the freedom to the older halfa to potentially use his powers to manipulate the justice system. Vlad grinned and nodded in agreement.

"Tell me more of your descendants," Vlad encouraged excitedly. Danny pushed down a smirk.

"Well, they can't get back to their time anymore. So they need to build new lives here. Which is why I'm here. They need new identities and I'd like you to pay for their living expenses through high school and college, within reason of course, starting with a house in Elmerton and enrolling them in Fudd High School. Housekeeper would be great too. I'll overshadow the housekeeper or someone and act as their guardian as and when they need one. I just need you to pay for stuff to set them up," Danny explained. Vlad leaned back in his seat and steepled his fingertips thoughtfully.

"That seems more of a gift than a business deal Daniel," Vlad retorted. Danny nodded.

"I know that. I'm here to discuss payment. I could do a few long distance deliveries or something. And don't forget how much I stuck my neck out for you yesterday. I didn't have to risk my life like that," Danny replied.

"Very well. One more item. I get to consult with your descendants for future business endeavours. Their knowledge could be invaluable," Vlad stipulated. Danny fought down a grin of triumph. Vlad took the bait. The hope was that the future would change. Eric and Yazmin had told the trio how desolate and desperate the humans had become in that timeline. Technology advancements had suffered greatly. Therefore, Vlad had accepted useless payment. The best thing, Vlad wouldn't know it until years later if ever.

"Sounds reasonable. But it goes through me first. I'm not gonna let them tell you stuff like war outcomes or something like that," Danny agreed. Vlad smiled and nodded.

"Agreed. Deal?" Vlad confirmed and held out a hand. Danny shook the offered hand and Vlad fetched his laptop and started to draw up a contract for the two halfas, taking down the details Danny had for Eric and Yazmin's new identities, such as their new surname, first names, date of birth and so on.

Danny left with a broad grin on his face, changing into his ghost form to patrol the town before stopping at Sam's to inform the trio that the deal was made and their new identities were on the way. Prom was rescheduled for the following Friday in the community hall. Danny and Sam had a wonderfully ghost free evening, Sam having bought Danny a new suit to replace the burnt one he had thrown away. Star's cousin had returned for that prom to be Valerie's date and Tucker and Ashley spent the evening together. Two weeks later, Vlad and Danny went to Elmerton, house shopping. They enrolled Eric and Yazmin for the following year and bought a small two storey townhouse, Vlad hiring a male housekeeper for Danny to overshadow to act as a father for Eric and Yazmin when needed. A week later the halfas moved in, a spare room ready for Danielle for when she was next in the area.

Graduation came and went. Sam and Tucker went to college and Danny spent the following year training Yazmin and Eric while protecting Amity Park. He got a part time job as waiter in a restaurant to thrown off suspicion and to earn for his time in Florida where he was accepted into his preferred course. Things worked out wonderfully. Danielle visited the halfas and learned of the Nightingale residence and the safety it offered.

Five years later, Danny proposed to Sam.

 **A happy ending for all.**

 **Anyone see the joke in this chapter. I'll admit, I have tried out quite a bit of humour in this fanfic which I don't tend to do. Let me know if it worked. (I don't really see myself as being a funny person)**

 **I do plan to put up a one-shot on Yazmin and Eric's time at Fudd high school very soon so keep an eye out for it.**

 **So, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to read this fanfic and I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did.**

 **Until the next fanfic.**


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